Mikel has promised to arrive the Super Eagles camp in Kaduna on Monday, March 21, the same date interim coach Samson Siasia has instructed the squad to assemble in the northern city.
The central midfielder usually travels to his homeland on a British Airways flight, but this time around he is still searching for a good flight that will take him to Nigeria and fly him back to London from Egypt immediately after the African Cup of Nations qualifier in Alexandria.
Chelsea have a Premier League tie against Aston Villa in Birmingham on April 2, which is four days after the return leg of the AFCON qualifier with Egypt, and manager Guus Hiddink has told Mikel he wants him to feature in that game.
The Super Eagles star has been ordered by Chelsea suits to report to Cobham Training Centre in Surrey on Thursday morning, March 31st, meaning he’ll have only two training sessions with his team before their departure to B6 6HE.
The 28-year-old Mikel was involved in the national team’s last AFCON qualifier with Tanzania but was an unused substitute against Swaziland last November in a World Cup qualifier.