CARSON, Calif. -- Christian Wilhelmsson made his return to LA Galaxy training on Wednesday after an eventful 24 hours for the Swedish winger.
Wilhelmsson missed LA's training session on Tuesday to head down to Mexico to receive his P-1 Visa from the American Consulate in Tijuana. With his Visa in hand, if Wilhelmsson receives his International Transfer Certificate by Friday -- as is expected -- the Swede will be eligible to make his MLS debut in Friday's match against the Colorado Rapids. The 32-year-old described the trip south of the border as a "different experience" but admitted that the process which took several hours to complete went "quite fast" according to club expectations.
Although Wilhelmsson isn't interested in talking about making his debut, he admits that he is quickly acclimating to the club so that he can be ready if his number is called on Friday.
"It's a little bit different, you just want to try to get into the environment and the team. I need these trainings and I need every minutes, even if it's the reserve games, I need every minute to get to know the team.[Debuts] are always special and I just try to give everything and we'll see," said Wilhelmsson. "It's a great group and everyone is making it easy for me to get along. They're all helping me out so that's great."
While Wilhelmsson is adapting on the field, it remains a work in progress off the field as he looks to get his pregnant wife Oksana -- who Wilhelmsson said should be due around January -- and his one-and-half year-old daughter Naomi settled into life in Southern California.
"That's the tricky part. Whenever you move, it takes a lot of energy to get things done. I'm mentally tired just to get everything settled on that side, but I hope that soon it will be done so I can focus on the game," said Wilhelmsson. "Every where you go, a different culture or a different environment, as long as you have your family around you then you can relax. When you come home from training, it's still the same atmosphere...it's a good feeling whether you are in the desert in Saudi Arabia or in Hollywood. It's very important."
