Michael O'Connor delighted to have talented teenager at his disposal as they face high-flying Larne

The attacker missed the Lurgan Blues’ defeat at Crusaders last weekend after being called-up to international duty for Northern Ireland U19s.

Glenavon moved the ball well in the attacking third but missed McGovern’s creativity as defensive frailties were also exposed in the 4-1 loss at Seaview.

However, the talented teenager is set to be available for Friday’s showdown away at Larne, who XXXXXXX

"Paul should be back from international duty on Tuesday or Wednesday,” O’Connor said after the defeat on Saturday.

"Of course we missed him at Crusaders – anyone is going to miss Paul McGovern.

"You saw him last weekend against Glentoran, he wants to run behind without the ball and he’s going to score goals for you.

"We just didn’t have that today, didn’t have enough runners from midfield willing to run behind without the ball and that sort of just killed us today."

Larne come into the contest after missing the chance to secure their sixth successive spot in the County Antrim Shield final after losing out to near rivals Carrick Rangers on Tuesday night.

However, their league form has been exemplary in recent weeks as they are just four behind leaders Coleraine – with two games in hand.

So, with that all in mind, O’Connor knows the task ahead for his basement battlers at Inver Park.

He explained: “There are no easy games in this league, especially with where we are in the standings.

"Larne’s going to be a tough one, they’ve been good since Gary’s come in, they’re picking up results, picking up wins and they’re playing well.

"But listen, we showed against Glentoran that we can beat anyone on our day. We’ve got a tough one at Larne but then we’ve got two games which we’ll be looking to take points from home.

"Two home games against Bangor and Ballymena...but listen we’ll take each game as it comes and we will be looking for a reaction from the boys on Friday night.”