Record SPFL Champions Celtic have been dealt a huge blow after Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho suffered a hamstring problem in the League Cup final, Soccernet.ng reports.
The 29-year-old suffered a hamstring injury two months ago in the Hoops UEFA Europa League clash against Sturm Graz. He played just four minutes in that game before clutching his thigh.
His recovery took a while, as he was on the bench for the games against Feyenoord and Hearts, before making his long-awaited return in Celtic’s 3-0 loss to AS Roma in the UEFA Europa League last Thursday.
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Kelechi Iheanacho injures his hamstring, again
Celtic’s new coach, Wilfried Nancy, mentioned the former Manchester City striker needs minutes to regain his rhythm.
“He [Iheanacho] has trained well. After that, he needs minutes. It has been a long time, two months since he really played,” the Frenchman said in quotes revealed by the Daily Record.
“The way we work with 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.
After 45 minutes against AS Roma on Thursday, Iheanacho was thrust into the starting lineup against St. Mirren, a decision Nancy will no doubt regret.
The one-time FA Cup winner with Leicester City started the game with more agility than he showed on Thursday, with his link-up particularly standing out.
He even forced Saints keeper Shamal George into an impressive save low to his left from his powerful header in the early moments of the game.
However, it wouldn’t last long. In the 33rd minute, he attempted to run onto a ball played forward, but pulled up clutching his hamstring and immediately appeared to be in trouble. Iheanacho attempted to run it off briefly, but Celtic took no chances as Johnny Kenny replaced him.
Iheanacho started his career at Celtic with a good goalscoring return, but his injuries have raised questions about whether Celtic will extend his deal beyond the one year he signed.