CHERRIES old boy Warren Feeney has been given the green light to line up for Stockport County against his former club at Dean Court on Friday.

Feeney's availability was cast in doubt after he was forced to pull out of the Northern Ireland squad for their World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on Saturday.

The 23-year-old striker, who was drafted in on Monday as a late replacement by Lawrie Sanchez, turned down the call-up because his wife Katy was due to give birth.

Feeney was summoned at the 11th hour following a spate of withdrawals, which subsequently prompted the Irish FA to take the unusual step of invoking FIFA's four-day rule.

Paul McVeigh, George McCartney, Steve Jones, Danny Sonner and Gary Hamilton - who also withdrew - are all now ineligible to feature for their respective clubs either four days before or four days after the international fixture following the IFA's stance. But a spokesperson for the IFA confirmed to the Daily Echo that the four-day rule will not apply in Feeney's case, while the Football League said the Ulsterman would be free to face Cherries "provided the IFA have given their approval".

Feeney, whose wife gave birth to a daughter, Lucy, in the early hours of Tuesday, told the Daily Echo last night: "It would have been a good chance for me, but I wouldn't have missed the birth of my daughter for the world.

"When I got the call on Monday, Katy and me were in the hospital and we didn't know when she was going to have Lucy.

"It was a really crazy time and I couldn't leave her.

"I managed to get hold of David Currie from the IFA and explained the situation to him and he understood. It's one of those things. I'm disappointed at not making it after having waited so long to get back in the squad, but hopefully I'll get my chance again."

Feeney and his wife sat with Cherries supporters during the epic Carling Cup clash at Blackburn a fortnight ago, but decided to move seats at half-time after claiming he had been verbally abused by a minority of visiting fans.

He added: "It was very disappointing. Fans are entitled to their opinion but I was there to give my support to my former team-mates and was delighted to see them go through. I can take a bit of stick but I didn't think it was appropriate for Katy to be subjected to it in her condition so we decided to move.

"I'm sure some Bournemouth supporters will feel the need to give me some abuse on Friday, but there's nothing I can do about it."

Feeney, who left Cherries for Stockport in the summer, returns to Dean Court with his new club for a League One encounter on Friday (7.45pm kick-off).