Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho will be hoping to claim his first major silverware with Celtic when the Hoops face St Mirren in the final of the Scottish Cup at Hampden Park on Sunday, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The Nigerian striker recently returned to action after a lengthy spell on the sidelines, featuring in Celtic’s midweek Europa League clash against AS Roma. Iheanacho had been out for close to two months after sustaining a hamstring injury, and his comeback came in a difficult night for the Scottish champions, who fell 3-0 to the Italian side at Parkhead.
The defeat to Roma compounded a challenging start for new head coach Wilfried Nancy, who is still searching for his first win since taking charge. The Frenchman began his reign with a 2-1 home loss to Hearts, a result that left Celtic three points adrift of the Premiership leaders, although they still hold a game in hand in the title race.
Despite his return to fitness, Iheanacho is not expected to start the Scottish Cup final, with Nancy keen to manage the striker’s workload carefully as he builds match sharpness. The former Leicester City forward is likely to begin the encounter on the bench, with a possible cameo role depending on the flow of the game.
Speaking ahead of the Europa League defeat to Roma, Nancy explained the club’s cautious approach to Iheanacho’s reintegration. “He has trained well. After that, he needs minutes. It has been a long time, two months, since he really played,” the Celtic boss said.
“The way we work with players who have not played regularly is to get them through physical work to bring them back into the rhythm. For the moment, obviously, he is not fit to play a lot of minutes, but a few minutes, yes. It has to be step by step.”
Sunday’s final presents Celtic with an opportunity to secure silverware despite recent struggles, and for Iheanacho, it could mark a significant milestone in his time at the club if the Hoops manage to overcome St Mirren at Hampden Park.