'One of the greats': Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill pays tribute to Jonny Evans

Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neill believes Jonny Evans will be remembered for being one of the countries greatest ever players following his retirement from international football.

Evans announced his retirement yesterday after 18 years of service and accumulating 107 caps in the Green and White.

"For any player to get more than 100 caps is a huge achievement he is along with Aaron Hughes, Steven Davis and Pat Jennings, he is in great company and show his longevity of an international career.

"I think he'll go down if not our greatest defender then one of our greatest defenders he is also one of our greatest players some of his performances have been fantastic, right at the top level of the game and he always brought that level to his game and brought it with humility."

O'Neill named his squad for the upcoming UEFA Nations League games with Luxembourg and Bulgaria next month.

Shayne Lavery returns to the squad following his move to Cambridge United while Paddy McNair also returns.

There is no place in the squad for former Cliftonville forward Ronan Hale who recently moved to Scottish Premiership side Ross County.

Hale played for the Republic of Ireland underage set up and is in the process of an international transfer in order to represent Northern Ireland.

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