Jabu Pule, the Kaizer Chiefs midfield star who went missing prior to South Africa's African Cup of Nations qualifier against the Ivory Coast earlier this month, has been admitted to a drug rehabilitation centre.

The slightly-built midfielder entered the rehabilitation programme voluntarily following an emotional reunion with his Kaizer Chiefs team-mates earlier this week.

He admitted to having a drug problem.

Pule reportedly told his Kaizer Chiefs team-mates that he was not the only South African footballer with drug problems.

According to the 22-year old midfielder there some members of the Bafana Bafana squad who needed to speak out about their problem and seek help like he had done.

Pule's mysterious disappearance had his club and fans baffled as no-one was able to account for his whereabouts.

He resurfaced a day after being encouraged by a national television football programme not to let his footballing talent go to waste.

"We are quite pleased that Jabu's move to rehabilitation is an honest admission that there is a problem affecting him," the club's chairman Kaizer Motaung wrote on their website.

"It's quite obvious to us that his problem is not unique and that there are many other players affected, but because of his prominence he was quickly exposed," Motaung added.

Pule, one of South Africa's brightest young talents, has had a growing history of behavioural problems since bursting into the limelight with Kaizer Chiefs a few seasons ago.

He was part of the preliminary squad for the African Cup of Nations finals played in Mali earlier this year but was dropped after going missing along with Kaizer Chiefs teammate, Patrick Mbuthu.

He represented South Africa at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and was also a member of the 2002 World Cup squad, coming on as a second half substitute against Slovenia.

Prior to the team's departure for the Far East, President Thabo Mbeki famously asked Pule "to behave himself for the sake of the country."