SUNERLAND'S Daniel Ballard is ready to put a "frustrating" spell behind him and get some crucial match minutes under his belt for Northern Ireland.

The 25-year-old is back in Michael O’Neill’s squad for the final two Nations League matches at home to Belarus on Friday and then away to Luxembourg on Monday, having missed October’s fixtures with an ankle problem.

That injury came on the back of a knee issue suffered in pre-season, and as a result Ballard has made only five appearances for Championship-topping Sunderland this season, playing just 11 minutes from the bench in the last two months.

But Northern Ireland could well be leaning on the big defender in the next two games with Paddy McNair, Eoin Toal and Jamal Lewis all missing from the back line, and Ballard is confident he is ready to step in.

“I feel alright now,” Ballard told the PA news agency. “It’s been a frustrating month; I’ve not played too much football this season so it’s been stop-start so far, but I’m just happy to be back out there training and I feel ready to get some minutes now.”

Asked if he felt capable of playing 90 minutes if required, Ballard added: “I think so. I’ve been training for two or three weeks now and I got some minutes at the weekend with Sunderland. Even though it was only a few I’ve been running a lot, training a lot with the boys and I feel thereabouts now.”

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In Ballard's absence, Aji Alese and then Chris Mepham impressed - meaning the former Arsenal defender has a fight on his hands to force his way into the team.

But Regis Le Bris this week stressed Ballard's importance to the Sunderland cause and said he'll have a crucial role to play this season. Le Bris looks set to have his wish granted after telling of his hope that Ballard gets some much-needed minutes in the tank while away with Northern Ireland.

On the international front, Ballard's injury meant he had to watch last month’s 5-0 rout of Bulgaria from home. As frustrating as it was to not be in Belfast, Ballard could only revel in what he saw.

“It was really enjoyable,” he said. “You could feel the energy in the stadium. It’s a night I would have loved to be a part of but it was even better to see the team winning, especially at home where we’ve been really strong.

“It was and it wasn’t (a surprise). I think we’ve played well in games recently and not managed to put the final touches together but I think a game like that, it felt like it was coming for the group.

“We have been getting better going forward, better playing as a team, and once we got the early goal the momentum was with us and you got to see the quality in the group.”

The win has put Northern Ireland in command of League C Group 3 going into these final two games, but Ballard does not believe that has come with any extra pressure for the players.

“I think we’ve been on a decent run of form and as a group we’re really confident,” he said. “We’ve played Belarus and Luxembourg already so we know we can put in a good performance against them and it’s just about putting everything together and securing enough points to win the group.

“Doing that would show progression. I feel like we should be winning this group on paper. Obviously we’ve had some tougher times recently and it’s been nice to get that sort of momentum going again.

“We’ve had a really young group so we’ve had to gel together and it’s all come at a good time. We’re feeling confident at the minute so we’re heading in the right direction.”