December 30, (THEWILL) – Leicester City striker, Kelechi Iheanacho, is facing an anxious wait to see if he will be fit for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations after sustaining a muscle injury.
Iheanacho missed City’s 2-0 win over Cardiff City on Saturday, with manager Enzo Maresca confirming after the match that Iheanacho had picked up the injury just two days prior in the aftermath of the Boxing Day draw with Ipswich Town.
The exact severity of the injury is still being assessed by medical staff at the club. Maresca admitted that if it proves to be serious, the 25-year-old will not be able to travel out to Ivory Coast to represent Nigeria in the continental showpiece event that kicks off in two weeks.
“Kelechi has a muscle problem from two days ago,” Maresca told reporters. “We are still waiting to see if it’s something important or a matter of days. But I don’t think he will be available for the next match. We don’t know yet if it will impact his AFCON participation. It depends on the injury. If it’s serious, he has no chance to go. If it’s not important, he can go.”
Iheanacho was named in Nigeria’s 27-man provisional squad for the tournament just hours before Maresca delivered the worrying injury update. Leicester look set to be without several key players throughout January and potentially for the first half of February, with Wilfred Ndidi also called up by Nigeria while Patson Daka is set to participate with Zambia.
Abdul Fatawu and Harry Souttar are also likely to be missing due to international commitments next month. But losing Iheanacho would come as a major blow, with the forward netting 10 goals across all competitions so far this term. The Super Eagles will hope the injury does prove only minor so that he can contribute to the quest for AFCON glory.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
