Bonis and Balmer added to Northern Ireland squad

Former Larne striker Lee Bonis has been added to the Northern Ireland squad for the forthcoming Nations League matches against Belarus and Bulgaria, his club have announced.

The uncapped forward scored a hat-trick for ADO Den Haag in their 5-1 win over Oss in the Netherlands' second tier on Friday.

Ex-Portadown player Bonis joined the Dutch club from the Irish Premiership champions during the summer.

The 25-year-old was called into Michael O'Neill's squad for Euro 2024 qualifiers against Denmark and Kazakhstan in June 2023 but was an unused substitute in both fixtures.

Northern Ireland will face Belarus behind closed doors in Hungary on Saturday, followed by a home game against Bulgaria at Windsor Park on Tuesday.

O'Neill will be without injured pair Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Dan Ballard, with Mansfield Town goalkeeper Christy Pym having been called into the squad on Tuesday.

Bonis' inclusion will add to the Northern Ireland manager's forward options, which also include returning Stevenage forward Jamie Reid, Dion Charles, Callum Marshall and Josh Magennis, who were named in the original squad for the double-header.

Northern Ireland began their Nations League campaign by beating Luxembourg 2-0 in Belfast in September, then lost 1-0 to Bulgaria three days later.

The addition of Lee Bonis to the Northern Ireland squad would appear to be a direct consequence of his goalscoring exploits for his new club ADO Den Haag in recent weeks as the former Irish League striker has settled in at his new club, culminating in that treble on Friday evening.

Northern Ireland's strikers have found goals hard to come by, so the inclusion of the in-form Bonis, despite being untested at international level, adds some more potential firepower for boss Michael O'Neill while he awaits international clearance for prolific Ross County forward Ronan Hale.

Callum Marshall, Dion Charles, Josh Magennis and Jamie Reid, the strikers named in the original squad, have scored just 15 goals in 109 games for the national side.

O'Neill will be hoping for no further injury absentees, having already had to plan without first-choice goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell and defender Dan Ballard, while still getting accustomed to life without Manchester United's Jonny Evans, who has retired from international football.