Stephen McMullan called up by Michael O'Neill as Pierce Charles officially withdraws from Northern Ireland squad

The update comes after Sheffield Wednesday custodian Pierce Charles has now officially withdrawn from the squad after picking up a shoulder injury on club duty.

McMullan, who plays for Fleetwood Town and is currently on loan at League of Ireland side Waterford, has yet to be capped at senior level but has been called up to O’Neill’s squad before.

However, the former Warrenpoint Town stopper has previously represented Northern Ireland at Under-18, U19 and U21 level.

Speaking at the squad announcement last Thursday, O’Neill remained optimistic that he would have the impressive Charles available – but that is no longer the case.

“I was made aware of (Charles’) situation yesterday,” O’Neill said. “The medical teams have been in dialogue since then. We’re two weeks out from when we actually play and hopefully the solution is a positive one… Pierce has highlighted he has an issue, but we’re not at this stage ruling him out.”

It now means McMullan joins Bailey Peacock-Farrell and Bristol Rovers’ Luke Southwood as his options between the posts for the double-header away from home against Luxembourg and Germany on September 4 and 7 respectively.

Peacock-Farrell is currently on loan at Blackpool but hasn’t featured for Northern Ireland in over an year.

However, O’Neill believes he can rely upon the experienced campaigner if he gets the nod.

“Bailey’s an experienced goalkeeper… He’s got 48 caps so he doesn’t lack experience. I think what he’s lacked in the last 12 months is game time and that’s been challenging for him,” he added.

“Bailey has made a big sacrifice to take this move so he can play on a regular basis. He’s hungry to play. I think it’s just games really. It’s very difficult. It’s not like he was in Blackpool from the start of pre-season.

“Like Steve (Bruce) said, games will see Bailey get back to what he was. That’s what everyone wants to see. There’s a very good goalkeeper there.”