As Jack Warner can testify, Roy Keane is not a man who takes kindly to international representatives offering advice on how things should be done at his football club. So one can only guess at the reaction of the Sunderland manager to the assertion from Nigel Worthington, his Northern Ireland counterpart, that David Healy might need to consider leaving the Stadium of Light to further his career.

Keane labelled Warner a “clown” after the Fifa vice-president's attempt to intervene in a stand-off between the Barclays Premier League side and Trinidad & Tobago over the use of Dwight Yorke, the midfield player, earlier this season.

Worthington is unlikely to be on the receiving end of such a withering riposte, but, nevertheless, the former Norwich City manager risked irking Keane when discussing the lack of regular football that several members of his squad, primarily Healy, have encountered this season. “Of the 24 players we named, nine of those are not playing regular first-team football and five of those are the five strikers in the squad,” Worthington said before the friendly against Hungary at Windsor Park this evening.

Since moving from Fulham for £1.2million in the summer, Healy, Northern Ireland's record goalscorer, has made only three Premier League appearances, each as a substitute. He was taken off at half-time in his only start, in the Carling Cup third-round tie against Northampton Town.

The lack of match sharpness has contributed to a stagnation in the 29-year-old forward's prolific international scoring record, with only one goal from his past five appearances, that coming in the 4-0 victory over San Marino last month. “It certainly doesn't help us,” said Worthington, who will give an international debut to Niall McGinn, the Derry City winger. “Players need to be forcing the way into their teams. Otherwise they have to sit down with their managers to assess what's best and, if need be, either move on or go out on loan. Short term, being out of the side it doesn't do you any harm but long term, sharpness just drops 10-15 per cent.”

Maik Taylor, the Birmingham City goalkeeper who captains the side in the absence of Aaron Hughes, who has concussion, said: “There's strong competition for places at Sunderland and the worst-case scenario is that David will maybe move on if he can't break his way in.”

Healy scored on his Sunderland debut in the Carling Cup second-round match away to Nottingham Forest, but that proved to be a false dawn in a difficult first few months on Wearside. The former Manchester United trainee has grown accustomed to fending off questions as to why he cannot regularly sustain his international form at domestic level as he attempts to celebrate a 70th cap by adding to his 35-goal haul. “If I don't score for a couple of games people start saying ‘maybe he's lost it,'” he said. “I get asked a lot why I do so well at international level. I'd love to be able to answer why and I'm sure it's a question Roy Keane would love to know the answer to, but I don't.”

Steven Davis, the Rangers midfield player, is a doubt for this evening's match for personal reasons.

Northern Ireland (probable; 4-4-2): M Taylor (Birmingham City) - C Baird (Fulham), J Evans (Manchester United), M Duff (Burnley), R McGivern (Manchester City) - K Gillespie (Sheffield United), S Davis (Rangers), M O'Connor (Crewe Alexandra), C Brunt (West Bromwich Albion) - K Lafferty (Rangers), D Healy (Sunderland).

Hungary (probable; 4-4-1-1): M Fulop - Z Szelesi, V Vanczak, R Juhasz, Z Low - Z Gera, K Vadocz, T Hajnal, P Dardai - B Dzsudzsak - S Torghelle.

Referee: R Schörgenhofer (Austria).

Television: Live on Sky Sports 3 from 7.30pm (kick-off 7.45pm).