New Sunderland signing Cristian Riveros is finally set to link up with the Black Cats in the next 48 hours.
Paraguay playmaker set to land in England
New Sunderland signing Cristian Riveros is finally set to link up with the Black Cats in the next 48 hours.
The Paraguay midfielder, who featured at the World Cup this summer, has been waiting for international clearance to join his new club, and has been forced to train in South America.
But if all goes to plan, Riveros could feature in Steve Bruce's side's final pre-season clash against German Bundesliga club Hoffenheim on Sunday.
Delay
"We are still looking for Riveros to come though the door," Bruce told the
Sunderland Echo.
"We don't know where his passport is - somewhere between Paraguay and New York.
"But we expect him to be in Wednesday or Thursday. It's not a hitch - it's a delay that we probably expected because we had a similar experience when we brought Paulo Da Silva over last summer.
"They need to get their passport stamped and visa changed and with having the World Cup in the middle of it didn't help - especially with them getting to the quarter-final.
"If they'd got knocked out in the early rounds it would have helped!"
Meanwhile, fellow midfielder Lee Cattermole appeared a little off colour during last weekend's pre-season friendly at Leicester following an injury-blighted summer, but Bruce is confident he will return to his top form in the near future.
Pleased
"When Lee did his knee last year it was the first time in his career he's had a bad injury," he added.
"One or two things led to another and now he needs games.
"I was pleased that the longer the game went on the better he got at Leicester.
"He had a wonderful start for us last year and he'll be ok."
