Sunderland defender Dan Ballard praised by Northern Ireland boss as he returns for Scotland clash

Dan Ballard is in line to partner Sunderland teammate Trai Hume in the Northern Ireland defence when the Green and White Army face Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday evening.

The Black Cats man missed Northern Ireland's 1-1 draw with Romania on Friday due to the birth of his son, Colby. Michael O'Neill fielded a young side in Bucharest, with the average age of the starting XI coming in at 23.5. At 24, Ballard could be one of the most experienced players in the side against Scotland.

Addressing Ballard's pending return, Northern Ireland boss O'Neill heaped praise on the Sunderland man. He said: "Dan is a young player but he is an experienced player in his team at Sunderland in a very young club side and he brings a lot to us. He is one of our more experienced players, along with Paddy McNair and Jordan Thompson.

"They're pretty much our most experienced players in this group so it's nice to have Daniel back. He's in a good place and when you see him playing for Sunderland you see a natural leader. Hopefully you see that emerge at international level as well.

"This is an easy group to lead, they spend a lot of time with each other, they've known each other. We have young players like Isaac [Price] and Shea [Charles] that came through eligibility but were playing in our teams from a young age, so there's a real good group of lads, who are friends as well. I think that's very important. I do have a positive feeling about this group of players. The young lads in particular have been terrific to work with."

Ballard has started 35 games for Sunderland in the Championship this term, missing just three fixtures for the Black Cats. It will be short turnaround for the likes of Ballard and Hume with Sunderland back in action at Cardiff City on Friday afternoon, as they prepare to get straight back into club action following their international exploits.