Now that the games against Belarus and Bulgaria are just a few days away, O’Neill has discovered he will be forced to look into other options for in-between the posts.
The injury to Peacock-Farrell’s shoulder, which occurred at a time when his backup goalkeeper Conor Hazard is already out due to ankle surgery, has put the manager in a difficult selection position because the two goalkeepers he still has in his squad, Luke Southwood and Pierce Charles, have only one cap between them.
Peacock-Farrell, who made his team debut in 2018, was anticipated to start both of this month’s matches and earn what would have been his 50th cap in the later encounter at Windsor Park against Bulgaria.
During the last years of the manager’s first tenure, under Ian Baraclough, and since O’Neill’s return in 2022, the former Burnley and Leeds United player was first choice.
Despite his responsibility for Bulgaria’s goal during Northern Ireland’s 1-0 loss in Plovdiv earlier this month, O’Neill hasn’t shown any indications of losing faith in the 27-year-old.
