Sunderland defender Dan Ballard has returned to the club for assessment after suffering a hamstring injury during Northern Ireland’s Nations League victory over Georgia on Friday.
The 27-year-old centre-back pulled up in added time of Friday’s 1-0 win in Tbilisi while chasing a loose ball.
He was substituted in the 95th minute and left the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena on crutches.
Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill confirmed the injury was a hamstring problem and ruled Ballard out of the remainder of the international window.
The defender will miss Monday’s home match against Hungary, the subsequent trip to Ukraine and the return fixture with Georgia.
“You saw the nature of how he pulled up, it’s a hamstring,” O’Neill said, after the game in Georgia.
“We’ll scan him tomorrow but he’s certainly not going to be available for the next three games.”
It has since been confirmed that Ballard has now returned to Wearside, where Sunderland’s medical staff will carry out further assessment.
O’Neill expressed hope that the defender could return for the next international window in November.
“He needs to be assessed by his club’s medical staff and we want him fit as soon as possible for Sunderland and obviously for ourselves,” the Northern Ireland boss added.
“People recognise how big a presence he is in the Premier League for Sunderland, but naturally he’s a huge presence for us here as well.
We can only wish him the speediest of recovery possible and hopefully we’ll see him in November.”
Dan Ballard injury latest
As detailed by the Northern Echo, the full extent of the injury remains unclear.
Sunderland are waiting on the results of scans and further evaluation before establishing a potential return timeline for club fixtures.
Ballard’s latest setback comes at a frustrating time for both club and country. He has been a key figure in Régis Le Bris’ defence this season, and the injury adds to Sunderland’s concerns after forward Brian Brobbey also suffered a suspected hamstring problem while on duty with the Netherlands.
Northern Ireland captain and Sunderland teammate Trai Hume said he was “gutted” for Ballard.
“He’s always a big miss,” said the full-back. He can’t catch a break at the minute.
“Seeing injuries like that is obviously not good, and I’m just sad for him. Hopefully it’s not as bad as we think, and I wish him a speedy recovery.”
Ballard has endured a difficult run with injuries in recent years that has limited his international appearances.
Since the start of the 2024 Nations League, Northern Ireland have played 21 matches but the former Arsenal man has featured in only 10 of those.
