UPDATE: RGV FC Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera addressed the player's situation on Wednesday's press conference. His declarations have been amended to the story below.
Sources told The Striker Texas that Norwegian forward Jonas Fjeldberg has finished his loan stint with RGV FC and has reported back with FC Cincinnati after the USL Championship declared him ineligible to participate in the playoffs.
On Saturday’s Western Conference quarterfinal matchup between the Toros and Phoenix Rising, Fjeldberg, who had been a key piece for Wilmer Cabrera’s team in their last three games of the season, was not listed among the 18 players selected for the match.
The Striker Texas received information from sources within the club that RGV FC was notified by the league that Fjeldberg was ineligible to participate in all playoff matches.
The USL Championship, through Nicholas Murray, confirmed the league’s decision after The Striker Texas reached out to the league for an official comment.
In their response, the USL Championship cited a rule that “players on loan from another club are required to make at least one appearance prior to the league’s roster freeze to be eligible to play in the post season.”
In Fjeldberg’s case, Murray explained that the player “did not appear for RGV FC prior to the league’s roster freeze on Friday, September 24, with his first appearance for the side coming on Saturday, September 25 against Atlanta United 2. As such, he is unavailable for selection this postseason.”
Fjelberg was announced by RGV FC on August 27 as the team’s latest signing at that time, coming in via a loan for the remainder of the season from FC Cincinnati after being selected in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft as the 54th overall selection.
However, “trouble with the registration”, as mentioned by Fjeldberg after the match against Atlanta United 2, left him inactive for almost four weeks, delaying his debut past the roster freeze deadline.
With his participation in the USL Championship declared completed by the league, Fjeldberg has reportedly returned to report with FC Cincinnati.
"We registered Jonas [Fjeldberg] before [the roster freeze deadline], but Jonas wasn't available until that game in September 25th for two reasons: One is that he wasn't available until September 20th where he was cleared by the league. Second, we had one game on September 22 where we held New Mexico and it was moved to a different day," mentioned Cabrera on Wednesday's press conference. "Maybe if he could have played that game, he would be here, but that's the rule. We cannot do anything, the league is clear with that. It's the rule and we have to move on."
The Norwegian forward ended his season with the Toros with 608 minutes played in 8 games, all as a starter, scoring 3 goals and making one assist.
RGV FC will continue their participation in the USL Championship playoffs this Saturday, November 13 at Toyota Field as they take on San Antonio FC for the first Conference Semifinal South Texas Derby matchup.