Rangers defender Gareth McAuley has yet to play since making his move to Ibrox.
Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill has told the Belfast Telegraph that leaving Gareth McAuley out of his squad was the fairest decision on Rangers.
McAuley, 38, spent the summer without a club having been released by West Bromwich Albion following their relegation from the Premier League, and actually had to wait until September to find a new club.
The centre back attracted interest from a host of clubs, but it was Rangers who landed McAuley on a free transfer on September 3rd, giving him a dream move to Ibrox having grown up supporting Rangers.
McAuley became the fourth centre back signed by Steven Gerrard, joining Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic and Joe Worrall at Ibrox, providing valuable experience to the trio.
However, McAuley has yet to make an appearance for Rangers having arrived with an injury, as Gers fans continue to wait for the veteran to make his first appearance in the famous blue of the club.
McAuley has remained a key part of the Northern Ireland national team, but he has been left out of their squad to face Austria and Bosnia later this month, with Sunderland’s Tom Flanagan coming back into the squad.
Now, Northern Ireland boss O’Neill has told the Belfast Telegraph that the fairest decision was to let McAuley spend time on his recovery, as calling him up for international games when he isn’t fully fit wouldn’t have been the right thing to do with Rangers in mind.
“It’s in our best interests that Gareth McAuley stays at Rangers,” said O’Neill. “He’s still not fully fit and hasn’t played a game since Costa Rica at the start of June. He would be an injury risk and that’s not fair to him or Rangers,” he added.
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