Donley added to NI squad but Toal ruled out

Jamie Donley's expected addition to the Northern Ireland squad for the friendlies against Switzerland and Sweden has been confirmed but defender Eoin Toal will miss the games because of injury and has been replaced by Kofi Balmer.

Twenty-year-old Tottenham forward Donley, who is impressing during a loan stint at League One Leyton Orient, previously played for Northern Ireland at youth level before switching allegiance to England.

However, the Antrim-born player has now been handed a first Northern Ireland senior call-up for Friday's home game against the Swiss and Tuesday's match in Sweden.

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill said he was "pleased to welcome Jamie into the squad".

"He is a young player that we have been tracking for some time," said O'Neill.

"We are waiting on the relevant paperwork from Fifa to be processed before we can determine whether he plays an active role in any of the games, but having him in and around the place to familiarise himself with the place and stuff I felt was important."

O'Neill added that he was "disappointed for" Bolton's Toal but said he was confident that Motherwell's Balmer "can come in and make an impact".