Wilfried Nancy has confirmed that Kelechi Iheanacho is back in contention for Celtic ahead of tonight’s Europa League clash against Roma, handing the manager a timely attacking option as he prepares for his second game in charge.
The Nigerian striker, who joined the club as a free agent in September, has been sidelined since picking up an injury in the early stages of Celtic’s home win over Sturm Graz in October.
Having returned to full training, he’s now available to play a part at Parkhead, although he’s unlikely to be thrown in from the start.
Nancy, speaking ahead of the sold-out European tie, revealed the forward has made good progress in training but is still working towards full match sharpness.
“He has trained well,” said Nancy to the Herald. “After that, he needs minutes. It has been a long time, two months since he really played.
“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. We will see.”
Iheanacho has scored three times since arriving at the club, including two penalties in domestic action against Kilmarnock and Motherwell. His other goal came in the opening group match of the Europa League campaign, netting against Red Star Belgrade.
With James Forrest also back in full training this week, Nancy is slowly regaining key options in the forward areas as he looks to shape his squad for the challenges ahead. While Iheanacho won’t be rushed, having him back on the bench gives Celtic another threat to call upon in what’s expected to be a fiercely contested European night.
