Sheffield United's Conor Washington left out of Northern Ireland squad for '˜personal reasons'

Manager Michael O’Neill made the revelation as he named his party for the forthcoming Nations League games against Austria and Bosnia & Herzogovina.

Washington has made two appearances for Chris Wilder’s side since moving to South Yorkshire from QPR in the summer transfer window.

“Conor has a few personal issues and didn't feel it was in his best interests to be away for nine to 10 days and I agreed to that," explained the NI boss.

"I'd much prefer he was with the squad but sometimes players have their own reasons outside football that mean they can't be selected.

"Our other strikers are all scoring for their clubs and have had good starts to their seasons. Hopefully we see their goalscoring form with their clubs on the international stage."