Kelechi Iheanacho: Leicester striker named in Super Eagles’ provisional AFCON squad recovers from illness 

Nigeria manager Jose Peseiro has been handed a fitness boost two weeks before the start of a training camp for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, with Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho getting the green light to return to action. 

The 2013 Fifa U17 World Cup Golden Ball winner was named in the Foxes matchday squad for their Championship clash against Birmingham City at St Andrew’s on Monday night, but remained rooted to the bench for the entirety of the game. 

Iheanacho was fit enough to be named in the traveling squad to Birmingham after recovering from an illness that kept him out of the team that beat Plymouth Argyle and Millwall.

The Manchester City academy product has been included in Nigeria’s 40-man provisional squad for the Africa Cup of Nations and is a shoo-in to make the final squad barring an injury. 

Iheanacho has played in twenty matches for Leicester City so far this season, scoring six goals and assisting two. 

The 27-year-old will be hoping to accumulate more match minutes before linking up with the Nigeria squad at their Africa Cup of Nations training camp in the first week of January. 

He has been arguably the Super Eagles most influential player since the end of last season, having scored or assisted in each of his last five appearances for the national team and wore the captain’s armband in a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Lesotho. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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