Worthington recovers defensive duo

Northern Ireland manager Nigel Worthington will welcome back two key defenders for the UEFA EURO 2008™ Group F qualifiers in Latvia and Iceland.

Hughes fillip
Captain and centre-half Aaron Hughes is available again after a leg injury and Manchester United FC defender Jonny Evans is also in contention after missing last week's 3-1 home victory against Liechtenstein due to a groin problem. Chris Baird and George McCartney deputised during a win which took Worthington's team into second place in Group F, while Tony Capaldi and Damien Johnson also return having sat out the Liechtenstein tie for fitness reasons. Northern Ireland have taken 16 points from their seven fixtures and are two points behind section leaders Sweden ahead of the matches against Latvia in Riga on 8 September and Iceland in Reykjavik four days later.

Northern Ireland squad
Goalkeepers: Maik Taylor (Birmingham City FC), Roy Carroll (Rangers FC), Alan Mannus (Linfield FC).

Defenders: Michael Duff (Burnley FC), Chris Baird (Fulham FC), Gareth McAuley (Leicester City FC), Stephen Craigan (Motherwell FC), Tony Capaldi (Cardiff City FC), George McCartney (West Ham United FC), Sean Webb (Ross County FC), Aaron Hughes (Fulham FC), Jonny Evans (Manchester United).

Midfielders: Keith Gillespie (Sheffield United FC), Steven Davis (Fulham FC), Sammy Clingan (Nottingham Forest FC), Chris Brunt (West Bromwich Albion FC), Steve Jones (Burnley FC), Grant McCann (Barnsley FC), Stuart Elliott (Hull City AFC), Damien Johnson (Birmingham City FC).

Forwards: Warren Feeney (Cardiff City FC), David Healy (Fulham FC), Kyle Lafferty (Burnley FC), Ivan Sproule (Bristol City FC).