Kikau cleared for Warriors trip after fixing visa issue

Penrith's Viliame Kikau will be free to take his place against the Warriors for a crucial clash on Friday night after the Panthers managed to sort an immigration drama that threatened to leave the boom young forward stuck on the wrong side of the Tasman.

Kikau's Australian residency application is still being processed, but he has now been granted a visa that allows him to travel in and out of the country for the next few years while he continues to apply for citizenship.

Up until Tuesday morning he had been in doubt for the trip as he would not have been able to return to the country from New Zealand had the paperwork not been cleared.

Kikau has travelled out of the country previously as a citizen of his native Fiji, but due to misfiled paperwork during last year's World Cup, was facing a red tape hold up around leaving Australian shores.

The 22-year-old will fly out with his teammates as scheduled on Wednesday morning, while fellow forward James Fisher-Harris is expected to return from a shoulder injury that ruled him out of their last-start loss to Newcastle.

The Kiwi back-rower was rested largely as a precaution due to the niggling concern but will return to the Panthers line-up, while James Maloney will also likely come out of his knee brace this week with an eye to beginning field training, but is not expected to return for the Panthers until the finals as originally scheduled.