After a month in limbo, Mikael Uhre finally trains with his new Philadelphia Union teammates

After several weeks training on his own back home in Denmark, Mikael Uhre finally got to join his new Philadelphia Union teammates on Tuesday morning in Chester.

The new designated player arrived in Philadelphia on Friday and took in Saturday’s season opener against Minnesota United but Tuesday was his first full team training session.

“It’s lovely to be back playing football,” Uhre told reporters after leaving the training field. “It’s been a month with no real team training so I have to get my body used to it but I’m feeling good.”

The 27-year-old striker was acquired by the Union from Brondby IF for a team record $2.8 million in late January but delays in processing his visa kept him from officially joining his new team.

“It was a bit frustrating,” Uhre said. “But then again I couldn’t really do anything so I just tried to look at the bright side of things. I just had a newborn baby in December so it was nice — had a bit of a maternity leave being home and helping out with her.”

Uhre said his wife and infant daughter will be joining him in their new home on Wednesday. The Union head to Montreal to take on CF Montreal on the turf field at Olympic Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

“I’ve been training with a personal trainer in Denmark and he’s been giving me hell,” Uhre said. “It feels all right but of course there’s some movement you can’t train, some duels you can’t train.”

Uhre’s official in-person introduction since arriving came before Saturday’s game at Subaru Park. Fans were ready for the moment, singing a song picked up from the Brondby IF fans. Uhre won the Golden Boot last season and helped lead Brondby to its first league title in 16 years.

“It was perfect,” Uhre said of his introduction to fans. “It’s amazing they even took my song I had at my old club and chanted it so it was an experience I’ll never forget. I just look forward to being on the pitch with the guys instead of sitting in the stands.”