The Super Eagles forward could not make the trip to Poland due to paperwork issues while the midfielder is suspended
Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has described Kelechi Iheanacho’s absence for their Uefa Europa League clash against Legia Warsaw as “a shame”.
The 24-year-old did not join the Foxes for the trip to Warsaw because of some issues with his travel documents which obstructed him from entering Poland.
Iheanacho started Leicester City’s first Europa League game of the season against Napoli a fortnight ago and he made an assist in the 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium.
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In his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, Rodgers revealed that the Nigeria international would have been handed a starting role again, however, he might switch his options to Ademola Lookman or Zambia’s Patson Daka.
“We’ve had an issue with Kelechi. His documentation coming into the country wasn’t suffice, so unfortunately he isn’t available to play, which is a shame because he would have played in the game,” Rodgers told the club’s website.
“He will be unavailable for the game. The paperwork didn’t allow him into the country. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll have to look into that when we get back.”
Iheanacho, who is yet to start a Premier League game this season, has been involved in four goals for the Foxes so far this campaign – two goals and two assists.
Leicester City will also be without another Nigeria star, Wilfred Ndidi, after the combative midfielder was given his marching orders for receiving two yellow cards in the draw against Napoli.
Rodgers highlighted the importance of Ndidi and he admitted that it is “impossible” for them to find another player to do the job of the former Genk star on Thursday.
“It’s impossible to find what we have in Wilf,” he added. “We have good players, but specifically the job he does in breaking up the play and defending in the box, he’s irreplaceable, but we have lots of good players.
“You have to find a way. Earlier on in the season, we brought [Boubakary] Soumare into the squad because he gives us that physicality. Wilf’s a fabulous player and hopefully, he’ll be okay for the weekend.”
Legia Warsaw sit atop of Group C with three points after they defeated Victor Moses’ Spartak Moscow 1-0 on September 15 while the Foxes are third in the table with just one point.