Olsson fears Brunt could miss Euro 2016

Jonas Olsson fears Chris Brunt’s knee injury could shatter his dreams of representing Northern Ireland at a major international competition.

Brunt suffered the setback during last weekend’s 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace, the 31-year-old leaving the field on a stretcher after falling awkwardly when challenging Wilfried Zaha.

While the full extent of his injury has yet to be revealed, Olsson says the prospect of missing Euro 2016 would be a huge blow to his team-mate, who was struck by a coin thrown by one of his own fans in last month’s FA Cup loss to Reading.

“It is a shattered dream for him not to be able to represent his country in the Euros,” said the Sweden international.

“I think that coin incident is not on his mind at all when you have an injury like that. You feel for him as a team-mate and as a friend.

“I have been playing with him for eight years. It is the first summer really when he was looking forward to something else other than a vacation.

“I just hope he gets back fit and maybe he is there for the next championship [the 2018 World Cup in Russia]. Hopefully there is more to come from him.”

Since making his international debut in 2004, Brunt has made 54 appearances for Northern Ireland, scoring once.