Michael O'Neill has refused to write off Kyle Lafferty's international career after the Rangers striker pulled out of Northern Ireland's games against Austria and Bosnia.
O'Neill was furious that Lafferty called him at midnight on Sunday to withdraw from the squad with an Achilles problem, even though the player's Scottish club later confirmed that he is fit.
It marks another downturn in Lafferty's rollercoaster Northern Ireland career, but O'Neill indicated there may still be a way back as he prepared to face Austria in the Ernst Happel Stadion in Vienna on Friday evening.
'It's not the case that his international career is hanging in the balance, but he certainly hasn't helped his international future,' said O'Neill.
'International football is a choice and at this moment in time Kyle Lafferty has chosen to make himself unavailable.
'He felt he would be better served not coming and being part of the squad for these two games - albeit he's been part of the Rangers squad all season.
'I was unhappy to be telephoned 12 o'clock at night, when I was expecting the player to turn up on Monday.
'But he's no more important than any of the other 23 players we have here.
'There's no guarantee that Kyle was going to come and play, that's the reality of the situation. We've got other strikers available to play.
'I haven't thought about what happens next. It's certainly not my intention to have a chat with him before the game. Since the conversation, my focus has really been preparing the team.
'We won't play another international until November so there's plenty of time to have that discussion.'