Sunderland defender Dan Ballard was pulled off with an injury during the Black Cats’ 4–2 defeat against Southampton.

Dan Ballard, a Sunderland defender who suffered an injury while playing for the Black Cats, has been called up to Northern Ireland’s squad.

The central defender was pulled out with a hamstring injury in the second half of Sunderland’s 4-2 loss to Southampton on Saturday, with interim manager Mike Dodds unclear of the severity of the problem immediately after the game. Ballard, however, has been included to Northern Ireland’s 26-man squad for this month’s friendly matches against Romania and Scotland, with Sunderland teammate Trai Hume.

Sunderland will meet QPR at the Stadium of Light this Saturday, before the international break. Dodds already has defensive concerns, with Luke O’Nien suspended and centre-back Jenson Seelt out for ‘a lengthy period of time’ due to an injury sustained during the Southampton encounter.

Full-backs Dennis Cirkin, Niall Huggins, and Aji Alese are still out, while Calum Styles has been called up to Hungary’s friendly team but is expected to play against QPR.

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