Bought from Swedish side IK Sirius in July 2016, Sunderland initially included Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka in their academy.
After spending two seasons at youth level, the 20-year-old was handed an opportunity in the first team in September 2018. However, the forward struggled for regular playing time with the League One side.
The Sweden U21 international all together made 14 senior appearances for the Black Cats and managed three goals and an assist in over 400 minutes of action on the pitch.
With the UK dealing with national emergency due to the Covid-19 outbreak, English clubs have seen their matches and training suspended.
Mbunga-Kimpioka, who is unable to train with Sunderland, has returned to Sweden and the attacker is planning to stay in shape by training with his former club.
IK Sirius director of football Ola Andersson stressed he isn’t sure how long Mbunga-Kimpioka will be training with his side.
“He’s starting up with us now and we haven’t set an end date. It depends on how it looks in England and when they get their business started,” Andersson told UNT, as relayed by Fotboll Skanalen.
The player’s contract with Sunderland is set to expire in the summer. When asked if Mbunga-Kimpioka could return to IK Sirius, Andersson said: “I don’t want to go into that, but he asked if he could train here now and he’s good player.”
