New Colorado Rapids signing Hendry Thomas was confirmed to have all of his necessary paperwork put in on Thursday, ending speculation that he would be unavailable for a game or two while the Rapids waited. Chris Bianchi on Twitter broke the news that the ITC and Visa were both ready:
Hendry Thomas' ITC and p-1 visa are both in- will be eligible to play this weekend.
— Chris Bianchi (@chrisdbianchi) August 23, 2012#Rapids#MLS
Colorado has dealt with paperwork issues before this season, specifically with Argentine playmaker Martin Rivero. Rivero was held out of the Rapids by his old club Rosario Central for a short time at the start of the 2012 season.
Though Thomas will be available for the Rapids' match against San Jose this weekend, it's very unlikely that fans will see him on the pitch for the first time. He has cited a lack of fitness since joining Colorado, saying he was around "70 or 80 percent" when he showed up after a long layoff without any first-team soccer. A more reasonable expectation would be to see him in one of Colorado's back-to-back games against Portland at the end of August.
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