Nigeria international John Obi Mikel has not participated in training for the whole of this week and will not be involved for Tianjin Teda when they travel to the Qinhuangdao Stadium to take on Hebei CFFC in the Chinese Super League on Saturday.

In recent weeks, the defensive midfielder has been struggling to overcome an abdominal injury he picked up at Tianjin Teda, and flew to London at the start of this week for a second opinion about the injury.

Tianjin Teda are no longer taking Mikel's ailment lightly again, and ultimately the club agreed to allow their marque signing return to England to consult the trusted doctors at his old club Chelsea.

The 30-year-old is expected to undergo a procedure which should keep him on the sidelines for three weeks.

If the Super Eagles captain doesn't suffer a setback during his rehabilitation, he'll be more than ready to face South Africa in an African Cup of Nations qualifier on June 10.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : chelseafc.com