Everton have been criticised for the apparent new injury to Vitaliy Mykolenko, after he pulled out of the Ukraine squad for this international break.
The harsh words come from Ukrainian sports doctor Dmitry Babelyuk [via Sport.UA](https://sport.ua/news/794016-klub-apl-obvinili-v-travme-igroka-iz-ukrainy-on-pokinul-komandu-rebrova), who has been left unimpressed by Everton’s treatment of the defender.
A report today showed a video of Mykolenko leaving the Ukraine camp today, explaining that he had undergone an MRI scan and been ruled out of the international break, during which his country will take on France and Azerbaijan.
His departure has raised concerns about his fitness once again, after he missed Everton’s two opening games of the season after picking up a hamstring injury in pre-season.
He returned for the League Cup clash against Mansfield Town and played 90 minutes in that before adding another 90 in the weekend’s 3-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
It now remains to be seen if he is set for another extended spell on the sidelines, something Everton will be hoping isn’t the case given their lack of options at left-back. Summer signing Adam Aznou is busy returning from an injury himself.
Babelyuk isn’t impressed either way, suggesting that Everton have acted unprofessionally in their treatment of Mykolenko.
_“Mykolenko left the national team due to a diagnosed muscle problem,”_ he said.
_“A big thank you to Everton who managed to get the player back on the pitch on the 18th day after his muscle injury and immediately gave him two 90-minute games in three days._
_“This is blatant unprofessionalism and amateurism. There are a lot of emotions, let them look for the guilty, but this is the structure of the barbell – from the coaching to the medical staff of Everton._
_“It’s incredible that this is happening at a club of the English Premier League level in 2025._
_“It is difficult for me to imagine how a coach with the appropriate coaching education and understanding of football can make such decisions and deliberately expose a player to the risk of injury, which does not benefit the club, the national team, the player himself, or even the coach himself, who loses a key fighting unit._
_“Now he is awaiting rehabilitation, because a repeated injury requires significantly more time to recover.”_