This is a bizarre one
Kelechi Iheanacho was set to be a part of the Leicester City side that take on Legia Warsaw in the Europa League, or at least he was until he arrived at Warsaw airport on Wednesday afternoon.
Instead, the in-form Nigerian was sent home after border control in Poland’s capital blocked him from entering the country after it emerged that the 24-year-old had a documentation issue with his passport, meaning that the authorities had no option but to send the striker home.
Iheanacho, obviously frustrated by this decision, is now expected to return to the United Kingdom on Wednesday evening with his manager Brendan Rodgers also sharing his frustrations.
The manager said: “We’ve had an issue with Kelechi so his documentation coming into the country wouldn’t suffice.
“Unfortunately he’s not available to play which is a shame because he would have played in the game. The paperwork didn’t allow him to enter the country, which is unfortunate. We’ll have to look at that when we get back.”
Iheanacho has struggled for starts this season and Thursday night’s game would have provided an opportunity for him to prove his worth in the starting XI.
It is now expected that either Jamie Vardy or Patson Daka will start in his absence, with the latter also struggling for regular game time since his summer move from RB Salzburg.
Leicester are looking for their first win of the Europa League after they drew with Napoli 2-2 at the King Power Stadium a fortnight ago, when goals from Ayoze Perez and Harvey Barnes put them two goals to the good before a Victor Osimhen brace brought the game level.
Thankfully, everybody else who travelled did have the correct documentations and will be able to play for the Foxes in Warsaw on Thursday evening.
