Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy has confirmed that Kelechi Iheanacho is available for selection again, but the club is taking a cautious approach and will not rush him back into action, SportPremi reports.
The Super Eagles forward joined the Scottish champions in the summer after his contract expired Spanish side Sevilla, where he endured a disappointing spell.
The former Leicester City striker immediately became popular among the fans, after delivering several inspiring performances for the club.
However, he suffered an injury just four minutes into Celtic’s 2-1 win over Sturm Graz in the UEFA Europa League last month and has not featured for the club since then.
He returned to training earlier this month and was left on the bench in the club’s 2-1 defeat to Hearts in a Scottish league match last weekend.
The 29-year-old was included in Eric Chelle’s preliminary 54-man squad to represent Nigeria at the 2025 African Cup of Nations and will be eyeing a spot in the final 28-man squad set to be released today.
Celtic face Italian side AS Roma in the Europa League on Thursday night, with Iheanacho expected to play a part in the clash as he continues his way back to full fitness.
Nancy confirms Iheanacho’s availability
Wilfried Nancy arrived at the club earlier this month, taking over from interim manager Martin O’Neill, who had replaced Brendan Rodgers.
The former Columbus Crew manager oversaw a 2-1 defeat in his first match in charge, but will be able to count on an available Kelechi Iheanacho for his first European match as manager of the club.
“He has trained well. After that, he needs minutes. It has been a long time, two months since he really played”, the Celtic boss stated.
“The way we work the players who have not played regularly we try to get them through physical work to get back into the rhythm. For the moment obviously he is not fit to play a lot of minutes but a few minutes, yes.
I have to understand that also in the past they did not rotate much. So I have done my work on that. I believe we have the players to do that but it has to be step by step”, he added.
On the clash against Roma
“It is an honour for me to play in the UEFA Europa League, but I have already been a runner-up in the Champions League in CONCACAF,” Nancy said.
“I respect [Gian Piero] Gaspierini a lot because of the way his sides play and I am really excited for this challenge.”
Iheanacho will be eyeing an entry into Eric Chelle’s final squad to represent Nigeria at the AFCON tournament, although an omission would give him a longer time to return to full fitness.
