Kelechi Iheanacho ruled out for ‘a few more weeks’ at Celtic

Celtic’s interim coach, Martin O’Neill, has confirmed that Nigerian international forward Kelechi Iheanacho will remain sidelined for several more weeks as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury.

Iheanacho, 28, has been struggling with the injury since he was forced off during Celtic’s recent 2-1 victory over Sturm Graz in the Europa League. The persistent nature of the issue means the striker has yet to regain the necessary match fitness to return to competitive action.

O’Neill Provides Timeframe on Iheanacho’s Recovery

When pressed for a timeline on the forward’s return, O’Neill told Celts are here that fans should not expect to see the Nigerian back soon.

“Yeah, he is going to be out for a few more weeks,” O’Neill stated directly. “I think that obviously after Sunday we’ve got this fortnight break, and we’ll see how things go from there. But yeah, he certainly won’t be available for Sunday anyway.”

The injury has already caused the player to miss four key fixtures for the Scottish Premiership side. The league defeat to Hearts. Victories against Falkirk and Rangers in the crucial Old Firm derby. The disappointing 3-1 thrashing from Midtjylland in the Europa League.

Celtic will now rely on the upcoming international break to assess Iheanacho’s recovery progress before providing a more definitive date for his comeback.