Will Grigg has been left out of Northern Ireland's squad for the European Championship qualifiers against Luxemburg and Germany.
The Sunderland centre-forward has had a miserable 2019, scoring just five goals in all competitions, and none since April's 5-4 defeat at home to Coventry City.
Club-mates Conor McLaughlin and Tom Flanagan have been included in the 25-man squad, giving Jack Ross a decision to make about next month's match at home to Burton Albion.
With goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin named in Scotland's squad, the Black Cats manager is entitled to ask for the League One match to be postponed, but could chose not to.
Sunderland flagged badly in the run-in to last season, and the congestion caused by a 61-match season cannot have helped. They reached the final of the Football League Trophy in March.
The signing of Lee Burge this summer means the Wearsiders are much better able to cope without their first-choice goalkeeper, and defenders McLaughlin and Flanagan are not in Ross' preferred XI. Conor McLaughlin is back-up to Luke O'Nien, while the signing of Joel Lynch has pushed Flanagan down the pecking order to fourth-choice central defender.
Grigg has not started a league game since the opening weekend of the season, at home to Oxford United. He has, though, had a positive impact from the bench in the last two League One matches, helping create Charlie Wyke's winner at Rochdale but missing a good chance in the 3-1 victory over Wimbledon.
With Ross planning to rest some of his regular starters, Grigg is expected to start tonight's League Cup second-round tie at Burnley.
