TheCable

Flying Eagles coach, Manu Garba, is excited with the return to fitness of star player Kelechi Iheanacho ahead of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

Iheanacho, who has been on the sideline after suffering a recurrence of an ankle injury, made a goalscoring return in his club Manchester City’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea in the FA Youth Cup over the weekend.

And Garba says his return is “good news” for the Flying Eagles.

“Kelechi’s return is good news for us,” he said.

“It is a good development for our team and it is something we are happy about because he is an important player for us.

“I am happy that he is back and his teammates are too, so we have to wait until he comes and then we take it up from there.”

With the World Cup starting this summer, Garba is unperturbed with Iheanacho’s overall fitness for the tournament.

“If he wasn’t fully fit he wouldn’t have played 90 minutes in a cup final,” he said.

“We still have to make our own assessments though and that can only be done when he comes.”