Elias Melkersen forced to wait to make Hibs debut amid work permit woes

Elias Melkersen could be forced to wait to make his Hibs debut, with the Norwegian forward still waiting on a work permit allowing him to make his Scottish football bow.

The 19-year-old arrived for a significant six-figure sum from Eliteserien champions Bodø/Glimt after a successful loan spell in Norway’s second tier with Ranheim.

But Melkersen still hasn’t received clearance allowing him to be considered for Monday night’s Scottish Premiership clash at Celtic.

Playmaker Ewan Henderson is ineligible for the trip to Glasgow due to the terms of his loan deal preventing him from facing his parent club, and his fellow January arrival also looks set to miss out.

Elias Melkersen will have to wait to make his Hibs debut

Easter Road boss Shaun Maloney confirmed that the club was still working on getting the green light for Melkersen.

“The new arrivals are all at different stages. With Elias, we are still working on the work permit. Ewan can’t play because of his loan agreement.”

There are also doubts over how much involvement there will be for American winger Chris Mueller. The 25-year-old signed a pre-contract agreement with Hibs last summer and his arrival from Major League Soccer side Orlando City was eagerly awaited by supporters.

However, with the Chicago-born wideman having played a full season in the US and not played competitively since November, Maloney is attempting to manage his player.

"Chris is not at the beginning of the process to come back but he’s probably not as far ahead as others because he’s not played for a period of time,” the Hibs boss explained.

"But everyone else is good to go.”

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