Following Jamie Vardy’s most recent glute strain injury, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has hinted that Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho will see more action in the coming weeks.
Iheanacho’s deflected strike earned City a 1-0 victory over Walsall in the FA Cup on Saturday. It also took his tally to 50 goals, joining 31 other players who have scored 50 or more goals for the club.
He came off the bench to replace Zambian striker Patson Daka, who was selected to lead the Foxes’ attacking line.
Iheanacho’s performance saw renewed calls from supporters for him to be given some Premier League minutes.
The Nigerian forward has this season only started one Premier League match. He managed to score one league goal when City suffered a 5-2 defeat to Brighton.
“He(Iheanacho) will get more game-time with Vardy out for a few weeks. It depends on the type of game we are looking to play,” Rodgers said.
“Absolutely (he can start Premier League games). For a large part of my time here, Vardy has been our number-one striker. We brought Patson in who could replicate that if Vardy was not available, with his speed.”
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With Daka’s recent struggles in front of the goal, Rodgers will bank on Iheanacho to step up.
“Kels(Iheanacho) is a fantastic link player for us. He’s different from the other two, who want to run in behind. He can come underneath and set the game up and when he does that, Kels, to a good level. He’s a really good player.”
Rodgers is confident that Iheanacho has fully overcome some “off the pitch” issues and would be able to deliver.
“There were a couple of little things off the pitch that have been difficult for him that we’ve been able to manage with him, and he knew where he was at,” said Rodgers.
Meanwhile, Daka and Vardy have struggled to score goals for the Foxes who are now sitting 18th in the league standings.
Daka has contributed 3 goals and 3 assists in his 706 minutes of play, which include 9 starts in the 17 matches. Vardy on the other hand has only scored one goal for the Foxes from his 1,137 minutes played.
City have a tough month to endure in February as they will come up against Aston Villa, Tottenham, Manchester United, and leaders Arsenal.
