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Worthy still hopeful on Craigan

Image: Craigan: Could be available

Nigel Worthington believes Stephen Craigan could still feature in Northern Ireland's friendly against Bulgaria.

Motherwell defender could be brought back into squad

Nigel Worthington believes Stephen Craigan could still feature in Northern Ireland's friendly against Bulgaria. Craigan was pulled out of the squad after Motherwell's Scottish Cup tie against Dundee on Saturday was rearranged for Tuesday. However, more bad weather in Scotland has seen the fixture called off again and Worthington is now trying to reach an agreement with Motherwell to bring in the defender. "I have spoken to Stephen and I have expressed my wishes for him to be here," said the Northern Ireland boss. "He is speaking to (Motherwell manager) Mark McGhee and will get back to us. Hopefully he will be in Belfast tonight." Even if Craigan is able to link up with his Northern Ireland team-mates, Worthington is planning to use Wednesday's game to look at a number of other players. Gareth McAuley, Chris Baird, Sean Webb and Jonny Evans are all candidates to play alongside captain Aaron Hughes in defence. Worthington added: "Stephen is very important to the squad, as are all the other players because we are not blessed with huge numbers. Each and every player is very valuable to the group. "For him to turn up and take part tomorrow night is very useful for us. But I will be looking to try to give as many people as possible, for themselves and me to have a look at."

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