Michael O’Neill admitted Northern Ireland will need to get creative to cover for a number of key players who will miss this month’s World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Luxembourg.

Southampton midfielder Shea Charles has been ruled out with a hamstring injury while Preston’s Ali McCann has suffered a broken arm, ruling them out of the game against Slovakia in Kosice on November 14 and Luxembourg’s visit to Windsor Park three days later.

Oxford defender Brodie Spencer is also out with a foot problem and Ethan Galbraith must serve a one-match ban against Slovakia, meaning O’Neill goes into a pivotal Group A fixture without four players who started last month’s 1-0 home defeat to Germany.

“There’s no denying it, they are players we would rather have fit, they’ve been consistent in this campaign,” O’Neill told the PA news agency.

placeholder image — Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill at his squad announcement before facing the closing two World Cup qualifiers against Slovakia and Luxembourg. (Photo by Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press)

“But we have to deal with it and that squad will have to show they can deal with this situation. You have to think as a coaching staff how we compensate for that.

“Do we put some maybe younger, inexperienced players in or do we feel the game is too big for them? Or, do we improvise a little bit with the more experienced players that we have?”

O’Neill has handed a first call-up to Barnsley midfielder Patrick Kelly while Kilmarnock captain Brad Lyons returns from his own injury absence, but a big chunk of the experience in this young squad is suddenly missing.

Charles, who started Northern Ireland’s last 19 games, joins his brother Pierce Charles, the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper, on a list of absentees that also includes Jordan Thompson, leaving O’Neill short-handed at the decisive moment of this qualifying campaign.

Northern Ireland head to Kosice three points behind both Germany and Slovakia, knowing they cannot afford defeat if they are to retain hopes of making it out of the group – albeit with the safety net of a likely qualifying play-off place by virtue of having won their Nations League group.

Last month O’Neill’s young side delivered one of their best performances of his second stint in charge to beat Slovakia 2-0 at Windsor Park, but attempting to replicate that away from home suddenly looks much more difficult given the absentees.

Spencer is among the Northern Ireland players whose versatility might have offered solutions when three midfielders are missing.

“That’s why probably Brodie’s absence hurts us the most really because we’ve played him at left-wing back, that could free Justin (Devenny) up to play a different position, so there are consequences to all these injuries,” O’Neill added.

“But we’ve played Conor (Bradley) in a more central area in the past, Paddy (McNair) has played in central midfield for me, and that’s where he played when he first came into the team.

“George (Saville) has loads of experience, we’ve got young Jamie McDonnell, and Isaac (Price) plays a deeper role for his club, so we do have options.

“Sometimes in moments like this you find solutions. Maybe you find a new player and someone steps up. International careers can be born in this way and hopefully that’s the case.”