Kelechi Iheanacho is not fully fit to feature at the forthcoming Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Ivory Coast from January 13 to February 11, Saturday.
The Leicester City striker missed the Foxes last two games due to a muscular injury, which the English Championship club are still trying to assess the severity.
According to Leicester City coach, Enzo Maresca, the Nigerian forward is recuperating well but he’s still not 100 per cent.
“I don’t know if Iheanacho can play at AFCON,” Maresca said during a pre-match conference on Friday.
“The only thing I can say is that Kele (Iheanacho) is still injured. He’s getting better but still not 100 per cent, otherwise he would be in the squad for tomorrow (today).”
Maresca’s comments comes after the President of the Nigerian Football Federation, Ibrahim Gusau expressed optimistism that Iheanacho will join the Eagles squad in Lagos on January 9 ahead of the tournament.
The Eagles are expected to be hosted to a dinner in Lagos on January 9 before departing for the Ivoirian capital, Abidjan the following day.
“I have spoken to Iheanacho, he’s recovering fast and has even started running. He will most likely join us in Lagos, where the team will be hosted to a dinner on January 9,” Gusau told reporters in Abuja.
Nigeria will open their AFCON campaign on January 14 against Equatorial Guinea before they face Ivory Coast four days. Their final Group A fixture is against Guinea-Bissau on January 22.
Meanwhile, Nigerian midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, who withdrew from the Eagles AFCON squad will be out of action for at least three months due to a muscle injury
According to Leicester City coach Enzo Maresca, it will take a long time before he fully recovers.
He is expected to miss 15 of the Foxes’ remaining 20 league games this season.
“The players who are injured are all progressing well, “Jamie Vardy, Kasey McAteer, Dennis Praet, Will Alves, Kele (Kelechi Iheanacho) and Wilfred Ndidi. They are still in the same situation.
“Probably for Wilf it will be a long time. It could be three months. It looks like a muscle problem, but an important one. We’ll see in the next hours. The situation for Wilf is the clearest one.”