With one late night phone call Kyle Lafferty has pulled out of international duty with his beloved Northern Ireland.
The striker appeared as a substitute for Sevco in their 3-1 win over Hearts on Sunday but had developed an Achilles problem by the time that he phoned Michael O’Neill later that night.
With so few players to choose from losing Lafferty is a major blow to O’Neill’s side who face Austria on Friday night.
The northern Irish squad met up on Monday to prepare for the match with O’Neill breaking the news of Lafferty’s absence late on Tuesday.
“Kyle Lafferty called me late on Sunday night to tell me that he would not be travelling on Monday to join up with the Northern Ireland squad as expected,” The Scotsman reported the former Brechin boss saying.
“I am disappointed that he has ruled himself out of the two games but our focus is on the players who are with us and I will address this situation after the international period.”
Lafferty switched from Hearts to Sevco in a dream £300,000 transfer.
Off the pitch he has had to deal with a number of problems and recently celebrated going a full year without placing a bet.
Lafferty is expected to have recovered from his Achilles injury in time for Sevco’s match away to Hamilton on October 21.