Norwich pair Phil Mulryne and Paul McVeigh have withdrawn from the Northern Ireland squad to face Greece in their final Euro 2004 qualifier on Saturday.
Mulryne (hamstring) and McVeigh (calf) are ruled out through injury as well as Cheltenham's Grant McCann (ankle).
Sunderland midfielder Jeff Whitley and Wrexham defender Shaun Holmes have been drafted in for the match in Athens.
Sammy McIlroy's side go into the final game against leaders Greece in Athens without a win in group six after failing to score in 1152 minutes.
Meanwhile, Greece coach Otto Rehhagel has retained several players who are out of favour at club level for the decisive match.
Stalwart defender Nikos Dabizas keeps his place in the squad, despite having played only for Newcastle United's reserves this season.
Dabizas is likely to partner Traianos Dellas, who is yet to play in Serie A this season for his club AS Roma, in central defence in the Group Six game.
Greece need to win the match to be sure of finishing as group winners and qualifying automatically for next year's finals in Portugal.
They start a point clear of Spain, who travel to Armenia for their last match on Saturday. Rehhagel also included Giorgos Karagounis, usually a substitute for his club Inter Milan, and striker Demis Nikolaidis, whose bit-part role at Atletico Madrid is not expected to prevent him starting either on Saturday.
But Rehhagel will have to make do without Panathinaikos centre back Sotiris Kyrgiakos. The 22-year-old underwent knee surgery this week after injuring himself in Panathinaikos's 1-1 Champions League draw against Rangers.
Rehhagel welcomes back Kyrgiakos's club mate Angelos Basinas. The midfielder returns after a month out with a knee injury.