Sunderland boss Steve Bruce is ready to welcome new signing Cristian Riveros this week.
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.
"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!"
