After losing Wilfried Nancy's debut game at the hands of Hearts, Celtic must be keen to turn things around as soon as possible and get the Frenchman's life at Parkhead to a positive start amidst heavy scrutiny. The issue is that things are not going to get any easier for them. Next up for the Scottish champions is a matchup against AS Roma in the Europa League.
AS Roma have made a good start to their campaign and look to be in contention for the Serie A title. They have lost their previous two games though and will be hoping to get back to winning ways as well.
So, a lot seems to be riding on this matchup for both teams. Celtic have been handed some positive news ahead of the game though.
It looks like Kelechi Iheanacho is set to make his return and could play some minutes against AS Roma. Do not expect him to be involved too much though, as he has been out injured for quite some time and will need a while to get back to match fitness.
Brilliant Celtic news confirmed before AS Roma game
As reported by The Celtic Way, Nancy said regarding the status of Iheanacho heading into the match against AS Roma this week:
"He has trained well. After that, he needs minutes. It has been a long time, two months since he really played.
“The way we work the players who have not played regularly, we try to get them through physical work to get back into the rhythm. For the moment obviously he is not fit to play a lot of minutes, but a few minutes, yes. We will see."
It would be safe to say that Celtic need more options up top at this point in time. He is someone who is capable of finding the back of the net for the Hoops, as we saw a few times before he ended up getting injured and has had to spend a few months out on the sidelines as a result of it.
In the long run, Iheanacho might not be the answer for Celtic though. There is a reason that he was available as a free agent and was only handed a one-year contract when signed by the Hoops. And now with Brendan Rodgers gone as well, it is hard to imagine the Nigerian having a long run at Parkhead unless he ends up impressing with his performances under the management of Nancy for the remainder of the campaign.