Pat McCourt is out for Northern Ireland
Celtic winger Pat McCourt has pulled out of Northern Irelands European 2012 qualifying matches with the Faroe Islands and Italy.
Northern Ireland will play the Italians on Friday 8 October at Windsor Park before they visit the Faroe Islands on 12 October.
McCourt has not recovered in time from a shoulder injury which he picked up while playing for Celtic.
Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington had called up Rangers player Andy Little as a replacement for Adam Barton who opted out of playing for the Northern Ireland senior team as he still has aspirations of playing for his native England.
Though initially called up to replace Barton, Little is a versatile player and can cover a number of positions. Subsequently, it is unlikely that a replacement will be called up for McCourt.
Northern Ireland have made a bright start to their European 2012 campaign and recorded a surprising 1-0 away win against Slovenia in their first game in Group C.
Northern Ireland are in third place in the group but they have played less games than Italy who top the group on six points and Serbia who are in second on four points.
Despite missing McCourt, Northern Ireland will expect to take more than three points from the two games. Nigel Worthington’s team are a difficult prospect at home and the Italians will not be looking forward to playing at Windsor Park.
McCourt has only returned to the Northern Ireland set up after he was left out of the squad that faced Slovenia. However, he was likely to feature in both games after his fine form with Celtic.
The player will feel unlucky that he has not had a chance to play in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign so far. If Northern Ireland can continue with another impressive performance against Italy McCourt may find it difficult to establish himself as a first
team player once he returns to full fitness.
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