Lyndon Lloyd 11/06/2024 15comments  |  Jump to last

Vitalii Mykolenko was forced off with an ankle injury during Ukraine's friendly against Moldova this evening and will undergo a further scan tomorrow to determine the extent of any damage.

The fullback was making only his second appearance since recovering from ankle ligament damage sustained in Everton's 2-0 win over Liverpool at Goodison Park in April but appears to have suffered a problem with the same left foot.

Mykolenko avoided surgery on the ankle in April but may not have built up sufficient strength in order to return in time to represent his country at Euro 2024 this month.

The 25-year-old went down after clearing the ball, received medical treatment on the pitch and tried to play on but, just like in the derby, had to come off due to the pain he was in from the injury.

Article continues below video content


Initial reports suggest he has avoided serious injury but it places a huge question mark on his availability for Ukraine's opening game of the tournament against Romania next Monday. 

“Mykolenko has had an MRI scan already and will have another scan tomorrow," Ukraine national head coach Serhiy Rebrov said. "We will see what happens but I feel a lot calmer now than from the initial incident.”

 

Reader Comments (15)

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()


Michael Kenrick
1 Posted 11/06/2024 at 20:42:02
This from Twitter:

Hopefully it's genuine and not one of those mock AI generated ones... actually no, that would be good if it was… but he did get subbed on 30 mins according to the Beeb.

Will Mabon
2 Posted 11/06/2024 at 20:50:46
Oo-er.

Doesn't look good. Achilles vibe. He was already looking a bit lame on it from the start of his run.

* Having now read below the video, Michael: not too long now 'til the time comes that we cannot discern fake from reality. Won't that be nice?

Kieran Kinsella
3 Posted 11/06/2024 at 21:03:12
Will,

Just wait until the VAR folks get a-hold of the technology.

All those debatable decisions will become clear cut when you rewatch the "footage"!

Will Mabon
4 Posted 11/06/2024 at 21:24:59
Kieran,

Right. It's a genuine concern... of a much wider scope.

For all we know, something could've "found its way" into VAR already... but then of course, I'm paranoid! ;-)

Danny O’Neill
5 Posted 12/06/2024 at 07:38:58
If its ligaments, that's trickier. Know that from experience, Especially with ankles. It stops your ability to turn. The broken legs were easier to come back from.

Get fit for the season Vitaliy, we're going to need you.

Christopher Timmins
6 Posted 12/06/2024 at 08:53:55
Hopefully, the summer break will result in a full recovery before the start of the season.

Denver Daniels
7 Posted 12/06/2024 at 10:16:43
On that clip he's hopping on his left foot, so did he injure his right foot then?

Danny, I've also torn my ankle ligaments. Or rather had them torn for me in a pre-season game. After following my physio programme strictly I didn't have any issues and recovered fully. I also played tennis and didn't have a problem changing direction side to side or forwards/backwards. I reckon he'll be OK. As long as it's not the achilles as Will mentioned. Fingers crossed for a full recovery.

Christy Ring
8 Posted 12/06/2024 at 12:19:19
Does it not show he was rushed back too early by Ukraine, after such a serious injury,

If I remember rightly, he has previously played for Ukraine even though he missed games for Everton because of injury.

Derek Knox
9 Posted 12/06/2024 at 12:50:51
Shame for the lad, who I like.

I agree about him being possibly rushed back too early. Could augur badly for us, if as bad as it appeared.

Niall McIlhone
10 Posted 12/06/2024 at 13:01:46
I suspect Mykolenko may be stood down for the first match vs Romania, regardless of whether it turns out to be a minor injury. Both he and Nathan Patterson have been very unlucky with the seriousness of their respective injuries, although they are both young enough to hope for inclusion in future international tournaments.

One site is speculating that Everton are interested in signing former Fulham and Spurs left-back, Ryan Sessegnon, who is now a free agent: The player has had a terrible time with injuries and had gone off the radar in the last two seasons.

If there's any truth in this, I think it just reaffirms that the club are having to "cut and paste" with "out of contract" and possibly loanees for the coming season.

Steve Dowdeswell
11 Posted 12/06/2024 at 13:14:41
As said ligaments can be a long recovery – I can vouch for that.

I lost all lateral ligaments and tendons and also sheared the lateral malleolus (ankle) bone. The first surgery took 5 months to recover from and lasted a couple of years before it failed and the second was around 12 months before I was fully mobile on it again.

Admittedly I only had a NHS surgery and physio and not a full team to provide rehabilitation support.

Hopefully Mykolenko will be back for the Euros for Ukraine and raring for the new season.

Denis Richardson
12 Posted 12/06/2024 at 13:52:31
Shame for the lad but I was always suspicious whether he'd be 100% for the Euros. I can understand them trying everything to get him fit but the derby wasn't that long ago and ligaments take ages to heal and strengthen properly.

I can't imagine he'll be able to play any games in the Euros (unless with injections) so should focus on getting fit. Next season starts in 2 months and I doubt he'll be ready for pre-season even if he dropped out now.

We really need to sign 2 full-backs, one for each side, to avoid issues going forward. We can't keep relying on Young and Coleman, and Dyche doesn't seem to trust Patterson.

Jack Convery
13 Posted 12/06/2024 at 16:28:59
I wish yko a speedy recovery but I think he needs to take the long view here. EFC need everyone fully fit for the new season. Players with a weakness will only cause problems with team disruption as the season progresses. As cover, rather than Ashley young and probably a lot cheaper would be Charlie Taylor from Burnley on a free. Yes, he'll be 31 in September but that is still 8 years younger than Ashley ! He's also had experience of playing CB and if Godfrey goes as it looks like he will he gives us cover for two defensive positions. Also Dyche knows him well.
Mike Gaynes
14 Posted 12/06/2024 at 17:13:26
I do not like that video at all. The previous injury was to his left ankle, and this is clearly to the right.

It doesn't look like he rolled it, which would cause a ligament issue.

Will is right. At first, fractional glance, it looks like an Achilles. A tough kid like Myko going down untouched and pounding the ground is a bad, sickening sign.

F---. F---. F---.

Jerome Shields
15 Posted 12/06/2024 at 18:16:30
Hope it is not as bad as it looks.

Wishing him a speedy recovery.

Add Your Comments

In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.

» Log in now

Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.


How to get rid of these ads and support TW

© ToffeeWeb