LONDON: Northern Ireland defender Aaron Hughes will miss this week's World Cup qualifiers against Germany and Norway through injury.
Hughes came off just seven minutes into Hearts' defeat by Dundee at the weekend with a calf problem he had been struggling with before the game.
The 37-year-old met up with the rest of Michael O'Neill's squad in Belfast but did not train on Monday and 24 hours later it was confirmed he would not be available to face the Germans on Thursday or the Norway on Sunday.
A tweet from Northern Ireland's official Twitter account said: "Aaron Hughes out of @FIFAWorldCup qualifiers against Germany & Norway. Callum Morris called up."
Hughes is Northern Ireland's most capped outfield player with 108 appearances.
Northern Ireland have guaranteed second place in Group C and only an unlikely series of results will deny them a place in the play-offs in November as they bid to qualify for next year's finals in Russia.