Tanya Oxtoby forced into two changes as injury rules out Kelsie Burrows and Kerry Beattie for Nations League double-header

​Cliftonville Ladies defender Burrows and Aberdeen striker Beattie have both picked up injuries and will be unavailable for the double-header.

The pair will be replaced in the panel by experienced Glentoran Women midfielder Nadene Caldwell and her club team-mate and Under-19 international striker Kascie Weir, who receives her first call-up to the senior squad.

Northern Ireland will begin their UWNL League B Group 1 campaign against top seeds Poland in Gdansk Stadium on Friday, before hosting Bosnia and Herzegovina at Larne’s Inver Park on Tuesday, February 25.

Oxtoby said: “It’s disappointing not to have Kelsie and Kerry join the squad, however it’s great to have Nadene back. She has worked really hard to recover from her injury. She is one of our leaders, so it’s really great to be able to bring her back in.

“Kascie is a player we have been monitoring for a while. I got to see her in two in-house games between the seniors and the U19s and she was really impressive.

“It represents another great progression for us in terms of the youth pathway and the players we are bringing through.”

The Northern Ireland squad will be training at Leicester City’s training ground up until Wednesday when they will fly out to Poland.

Coaches Laura Bassett and Izzy Christiansen, both former England internationals, have joined the regular coaching staff to put the players through their paces.

“It’s great to have Laura and Izzy around to share their international experience and knowledge with the group,” Oxtoby added. “We are always trying to add to the players’ knowledge and specialist coaches coming in can be really helpful.

“It’s great to have the group back together and continuing our development as a squad.

“It will be a great challenge against Poland. They are a much improved team and on the up at the moment, but it’s an opportunity for us to challenge ourselves again.”