Leicester City title-winner Joe Dodoo has returned to football after two years – and marked his comeback with a goal.
City academy graduate Dodoo signed a short-term deal with Solihull Moors this week, linking up with the National League side until the end of the season.
Despite not having played in two years, he was thrown into the starting line-up for Solihull Moors’ trip to Altrincham on the day he signed for the club, not only playing 90 minutes, but scoring a second-half penalty to earn a 1-1 draw.
It was the forward’s first match since New Year’s Day 2023, when he played the final 15 minutes of Burton Albion’s 5-0 League One loss to Morecambe.
And it was his first goal in more than three years since netting the winner for Doncaster Rovers at MK Dons in January 2022.
Dodoo spectacularly burst onto the scene with City in 2015, scoring a hat-trick on his club debut in a 4-1 League Cup victory over Bury.
He remains one of just three players to score a hat-trick on their City debut.
The first man to do it was Archie Gardiner, who bagged four goals against Portsmouth on his debut in 1934.
The second man to achieve the feat was Jeff Schlupp, who scored three under Sven Goran Eriksson in a League Cup game at Rotherham.
In fact, Schlupp helped Dodoo enter the record books by setting up his third goal at Bury.
Dodoo also scored as City beat West Ham in the following round and he made his one appearance in the Premier League title-winning campaign with a 20-minute cameo in the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.
Despite that promise, Dodoo left for Rangers at the end of the season, and has since played for a host of EFL clubs.
He's had spells at Charlton, Blackpool, Bolton, Wigan, Doncaster and Burton, while he also had a stint in Turkey with Ankara Keciorengucu.
Now 29, Dodoo’s task at Solihull Moors will be to ensure they don’t get dragged into the National League relegation battle.
With seven games to go, they sit five places and eight points clear of the bottom four.
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