Iheanacho ruled out of Nigeria’s squad after final fitness test fails

Kelechi Iheanacho will miss out on a place in the Super Eagles squad for the forthcoming World Cup qualifying playoff against Gabon National Football Team in Morocco after his final chance to demonstrate fitness to coach Eric Chelle came to nothing.

The Celtic striker, who transferred from Sevilla F.C. earlier this season, was already absent for the qualifiers versus Lesotho national football team and Benin National Football Team due to persistent fitness concerns.

Manager Chelle delayed announcing his squad owing to mid-week European fixtures, yet Iheanacho’s name was never expected to feature. The 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup Golden Ball winner continues to be hampered by a hamstring issue, one that kept him out of Celtic’s trip to Denmark in their Europa League fixture.

Amid the disappointment, there is a glimmer of hope within the Super Eagles’ camp winger Samuel Chukwueze has fully recovered from his injury and came off the bench in Fulham’s 3–0 victory over Wolves, while defender Chidozie Awaziem successfully passed his late fitness assessment to feature for Nantes in Ligue 1.

Editorial

When Nigeria’s football fortunes hang on the slender thread of a squad announcement, absences like Kelechi Iheanacho’s assume disproportionate weight. He is not merely a name listed or omitted he is a symbol of promise, of the bridge between youthful exuberance and senior expectation. His exclusion now is less a singular misfortune and more a symptom of unresolved structural fragilities in our national game.

Iheanacho arrived at Celtic with the acclaim of a prodigy technically refined, geographically diverse in experience, and nationally celebrated. Yet the hamstring that refuses to settle has become a recurring motif. It is less about the muscle itself and more the backdrop it reveals recurrent injuries, inconsistencies, and the inability to close the maturation curve that a player of his talent demands.

Coach Eric Chelle’s decision to exclude Iheanacho is understandable world-cup qualification is no place for half readiness. Still, it invites reflection on the journey that brought us here. If Nigeria is to compete in the global arena, then our players must arrive in peak condition, not merely available. The burden on the Twenties and thirties brigade is immense, far beyond the itchy air of expectation. Fitness is one thing; durability is another.

This episode also underlines how interconnected the international and club calendars have become. Iheanacho’s limbo status at Celtic a club marked by its domestic resurgence yet still finding continental relevance mirrors the national side’s own transitional moment. Nigeria must balance youth with experience, flair with structure. The omission of a forward once seen as future-forward reflects a deeper question: are our structures allowing that future to happen, or simply hoping it will?

In the end, football is about choices some tactical, some practical, all consequential. Iheanacho’s non-selection is a painful choice for him, but for Nigeria it must be a galvanising moment. Not to lament the absence, but to question the readiness of the next generation. If we breathe disappointment into every absent name, we may miss the chance to build readiness into every present one.

Did You Know?

1. Kelechi Iheanacho won the Golden Ball at the 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup while leading Nigeria to the title with eight goals.
2. Before signing with Celtic, Iheanacho scored two late goals in a Premier League game for Manchester City, making him the youngest substitute to score a double in City’s history.
3. The Super Eagles’ coach Eric Chelle is the first French-born coach to lead Nigeria’s senior men’s side in a World Cup qualifying campaign.
4. Samuel Chukwueze, who has just returned to fitness, previously won the Europa League Young Player of the Season award while with Villarreal.
5. Chidozie Awaziem has played in four different European leagues (Portugal, France, Italy, England) before returning to Ligue 1 with Nantes.