‘Big three’ in All Whites squad

All Whites coach Danny Hay says he will not take any risks with Winston Reid after naming the injury-plagued West Ham defender in his squad for next week’s friendlies against Ireland and Lithuania.

Sidelined with a serious knee injury since March 2018, Reid marked his return to fitness by playing for West Ham’s under-23 team in a friendly against Wolfsburg B last week but he has yet to return to Premier League action.

The 31-year-old’s inclusion means Hay will have all of New Zealand’s ‘big three’ available for his first two matches in charge of the national team, with Burnley striker Chris Wood and PSV midfielder Ryan Thomas also featuring in a near full-strength 24-man squad.

With one eye on 2022, Hay will use the All Whites’ first games since June last year to blood a new wave of talent, with seven uncapped players called into the squad for the first time. Those players are James McGarry, Nando Pijnaker, Joe Bell, Elijah Just, Max Mata and Callum McCowatt, who were all members of New Zealand’s under-20 squad, as well as Chicago Fire striker Elliot Collier, who is long overdue a call-up after breaking into the professional ranks in 2018.

The most notable player missing is forward Kosta Barbarouses, who has made himself unavailable for selection in order to concentrate on his club commitments with Sydney FC.

Louis Fenton is under an injury cloud after hurting a

shoulder playing for the Phoenix in the 3-2 loss to Melbourne City.

Fullbacks Deklan Wynne and Dane Ingham were not considered as they make their way back from injury.

Experienced striker Jeremy Brockie was overlooked for young players Andre de Jong and Max Mata while midfielder James Musa was unlucky to miss the cut. .

The All Whites play Ireland in Dublin on November 15 (NZT) and Lithuania in Vinius on November 18. Hay has indicated he will select different starting XIs in each game due to the short turnaround.