Aaron Hughes will become the first outfield player from Northern Ireland to reach 100 caps if he plays against Slovakia and manager Michael O'Neill has lauded the defender's professionalism.
Goalkeeper Pat Jennings is the country's only centurion but is set to be joined in the exclusive club by Hughes, who actually made his debut against Slovakia in 1998, when current team-mate Paddy McNair was just two.
"The four years I've had with Aaron have been positive. He's been a good player for me" - Michael O'Neill
The landmark he is closing in on seemed to have eluded him in 2011 when he retired from international football after accruing 79 caps, yet he performed a U-turn when O'Neill arrived in the post three months later.
"We got an inkling that he would have welcomed a conversation (about coming back), which I would have had anyway, but it made it slightly easier," O'Neill revealed.
"He phoned me on a Saturday night, I'd been at a game and flown back from Belfast, and it was a real positive from me having just been in the job that Aaron wanted to come back.
"I hadn't put a timescale on that. We had a game three weeks later against Norway but he made his intentions very clear from the off that if he was going to come back, he wanted to come back as soon as possible. It was a positive for the whole squad.
"The four years I've had with Aaron have been positive. He's been a good player for me. In the past year he hasn't started as many games but he's still a very important member for the squad, a great example to all the young players but ultimately still a player that has an awful lot to offer.
"He trains well, looks after himself and if you're looking at your dugout and you're needing a player to go on the pitch at a certain moment in time, it's nice to have people like that to choose from.
"He's not a player I would rule out starting games, it's just he's had a difficult year in Australia in terms of the number of games and the competitive football that he's played."
Hughes has appeared from the bench in each of the three previous friendlies, though O'Neill did not confirm whether he would feature for sure on Saturday.
Asked whether the 36-year-old would bring the ton up in Trnava, the Northern Ireland manager replied with a smile: "Maybe, maybe not.
"That would be very nice but we are only focusing on the preparation of the team, I think Aaron would be fully behind that decision. The importance is the game. Aaron deserves to get 100 caps but the decision on whether he starts the game or is used in the game depends on how the game goes and if I select him to start."
