BARACLOUGH FEARS LONG-TERM INJURY FOR EVANS

JONNY EVANS will miss Northern Ireland’s World Cup qualifier in Bulgaria tonight, leaving manager Ian Baraclough worried over the long-term effects of a foot injury. Evans has not played for his country since a goalless draw at home to the Bulgarians in March due to a problem with the plantar fascia ligament, and will miss his seventh international in a row when the two teams meet again in Sofia. Although the 33-year-old defender could make only his fourth appearance of the season for Leicester City at home to his former club Manchester United on Saturday, Baraclough is concerned over the situation. ‘Jonny hasn’t travelled with us, that won’t be happening,’ said the former Motherwell manager. ‘We did have a conversation that he might join up late in the camp, but it wasn’t a possibility. ‘It’s worrying for everybody really, whether that’s myself, Leicester City or Jonny himself. ‘He has not only got to think about his foot for the rest of his career but for after football as well.’ Saturday’s defeat to Switzerland has all but killed off Northern Ireland’s hopes of qualifying from Group C, but Baraclough has urged his players not to give up. ‘We want to finish as high as possible in case anyone slips up,’ he added. More realistically, the mission now is to finish as well as possible to avoid hard qualifying draws. ‘The last two major tournaments we have suffered, we’ve had Germany and the Netherlands (in Euro 2020 qualifying), and then Italy and Switzerland,’ said Baraclough. ‘You hope next time around you put yourself in a position where the rankings are a little bit more favourable to yourselves to possibly get a more favourable draw.’ Kick-off: 7.45pm, Vasil Levski Stadium, Sofia. TV: LIVE on Sky Sports.