SUNDERLAND are waiting to discover if Nazariy Rusyn receives the necessary documentation to feature in Saturday's game at QPR – but whatever happens, the Ukrainian deadline-day signing will not be starting at Loftus Road.

Rusyn’s move from Ukrainian side Zorya Luhansk was officially confirmed this week, with the striker having signed a four-year contract at the Stadium of Light.

However, while Rusyn has received a visa enabling him to enter the United Kingdom, and has been able to link up with his new team-mates on Wearside this week, Sunderland have not yet been issued with the documents that would enable him to play on Saturday.

He will travel to London with the rest of Tony Mowbray’s squad no matter what happens in the next 24 hours, but it remains to be seen whether he is able to feature in the matchday group.

“We’re still working on visas and things like at the moment,” revealed the Sunderland boss, who also confirmed a fit-again Patrick Roberts’ availability for the QPR game. “As I sit here right now, he’s not available.

“He might be tomorrow, I’m not sure, but he looks exciting. He looks fast and direct, but as any manager will tell you about a new signing, especially one who doesn’t speak the language, we just have to give him time. They have to be bedded in, and we shouldn’t be expecting too much, too early from a young lad who’s away from home.

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“Let’s give him some time and be patient with him, but he looks a good footballer and, at some stage in the next couple of weeks, he’ll hopefully impact the games.”

Prior to moving to Wearside, Rusyn was struggling with an injury that limited his involvement with Zorya Luhansk in the early weeks of the campaign.

The injury issue has cleared up, but the time on the sidelines has blunted the 24-year-old’s fitness levels, meaning he will not be considered for a starting spot against QPR even if he gets the green light to feature from the authorities.

“I don’t think he’s played a game in three weeks,” said Mowbray. “So, I don’t think anybody should expect to see his name in the starting team at the weekend.

“We will be taking him to London with us, whether he gets his visa or not. It’s right that he comes with the team and is around the players. He’ll have to stand on chair and sing a song for his initiation – maybe we’ll get the Ukrainian national anthem, I’m not so sure.”

Rusyn was one of two strikers to join Sunderland at the end of the transfer window, with youngster Mason Burstow also moving to the North-East on a season-long loan from Chelsea.

The 20-year-old made a couple of substitute appearances for Chelsea’s first team at the start of the season, and has made an instant impact on the training ground at the Academy of Light.

“He’s (Burstow) a really nice, humble boy,” said Mowbray. “To be honest, I think the balls were getting net rash the first day he trained. He didn’t miss, everything was flying in.

“He looks exciting. He’s a nice humble, almost shy kid, but he just kept smashing it into the net. That’s not meant to put pressure on him, but in that first training session, he must have scored 50 goals in an hour’s training.”