Sunderland defender Dan Ballard has sent a positive fitness message to Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris as he prepares to continue his comeback with Northern Ireland tonight.
The 25-year-old defender is in line to start for Michael O’Neill’s side this evening as they take on Belaruis in the first of their final two Nations League games this international break. An ankle injury has limited his gametime for Sunderland this season, with Ballard making just five appearances for the Black Cats this term, and only 11 minutes in the last two months.
However, he insists he is fit and ready to step up for the injury-hit Northern Irish tonight and in Luxembourg on Monday night, and is ready to take his opportunities for both club and country after a frustrating month.
“I feel all right now,” Ballard told the PA news agency. “It’s been a frustrating month; I’ve not played too much football this season so it’s been stop-start so far, but I’m just happy to be back out there training and I feel ready to get some minutes now.
“I’ve been training for two or three weeks now and I got some minutes at the weekend with Sunderland. Even though it was only a few I’ve been running a lot, training a lot with the boys and I feel thereabouts now.”
Ballard’s injury meant he had to watch last month’s 5-0 rout of Bulgaria from home. As frustrating as it was to not be in Belfast, Ballard could only revel in what he saw.
“It was really enjoyable,” he said. “You could feel the energy in the stadium. It’s a night I would have loved to be a part of but it was even better to see the team winning, especially at home where we’ve been really strong. It was and it wasn’t (a surprise). I think we’ve played well in games recently and not managed to put the final touches together but I think a game like that, it felt like it was coming for the group.
“We have been getting better going forward, better playing as a team, and once we got the early goal the momentum was with us and you got to see the quality in the group.”
The win has put Northern Ireland in command of League C Group 3 going into these final two games, but Ballard does not believe that has come with any extra pressure for the players.
“I think we’ve been on a decent run of form and as a group we’re really confident,” he said. “We’ve played Belarus and Luxembourg already so we know we can put in a good performance against them and it’s just about putting everything together and securing enough points to win the group.
“Doing that would show progression. I feel like we should be winning this group on paper. Obviously we’ve had some tougher times recently and it’s been nice to get that sort of momentum going again.
“We’ve had a really young group so we’ve had to gel together and it’s all come at a good time. We’re feeling confident at the minute so we’re heading in the right direction.”
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