Exclusive: Ejike Uzoenyi May Not Arrive Mamelodi Sundowns Until Mid - August

Nigeria international Ejike Uzoenyi will not feature for Mamelodi Sundowns when the Premier Soccer League begins this coming Friday, August 8.

The winger, a late inclusion to the Super Eagles World Cup roster, is still holed up in Enugu while he awaits the outcome of his work permit application to the South African embassy.

Players’ manager Mohammed Lawal, is optimistic that Ejike Uzoenyi will join the Brazilians next week, but in reality his arrival at the club might not be feasible until at least the next two weeks.

“Ejike has not joined Sundowns because of his work permit. The club is doing everything to make sure he gets the permit on time.

“How long we are looking at? It normally takes six weeks to process. But hopefully it comes out next week.

“The South African immigration system changed in May this year, so it’s a bit unfortunate that we only started the process after the World Cup,” Mohammed Lawal, who has introduced several Nigerian players to PSL teams, said to allnigeriasoccer.com

There are reports suggesting that the former Enugu Rangers poster boy would be farmed out on loan this season after Sundowns exceeded their foreign quota, a claim Mohammed Lawal has vehemently denied.

“Those are all rumours. The club is very keen in having Uzoenyi in the squad and never mentioned anything like that to me.

“All the club is doing is trying to get him down here for him to start training with his teammates,”  he added.

Ejike Uzoenyi penned a four - year deal with Mamelodi Sundowns after displaying his wares at January’s African Nations Championship, where he was officially chosen as the best player of the competition.