Aaron Hughes, Ryan McGivern to miss Northern Ireland's qualifiers

Northern Ireland will be without defenders Aaron Hughes and Ryan McGivern for their World Cup qualifiers against Portugal and Luxembourg.

The pair were doubts following manager Michael O'Neill's claims yesterday that Hughes was struggling with a groin problem, while McGivern had picked up a knee injury.

Now, it has been confirmed that the pair, who were expected to start against Portugal on Friday evening, will play no part in the nation's qualifiers.

Chris Baird and Rory McArdle were called up as cover.