Ukraine manager Andrea Maldera has provided an update on the fitness of Everton left-back Vitalii Mykolenko.
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Vitalii Mykolenko missed Ukraine's previous Nations League fixture due to injury, with manager Andrea Maldera confirming that he didn't want to risk the left-back.
It was a surprise to see Mykolenko's name not in the squad for Ukraine, given he's regularly a shoo-in for the left-back spot. Maldera had confirmed before the game that he was unlikely to play, but did hint that it wasn't too serious. He mentioned that he didn't want to risk him.
Mykolenko was involved in Ukraine's first game of the international break, starting at left-back as they defeated Hungary 1-0. The Everton man was then left out of the squad completely as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Georgia, with Maldera confirming the injury to Mykolenko before the match.
Injury update on Mykolenko
Providing an update ahead of Ukraine's next game, Maldera has confirmed that Mykolenko will be unavailable for this one. The Everton left-back has indicated that he doesn't feel ready, and Ukraine are willing to respect that to avoid him getting injured more seriously.
“We still cannot count on Mykolenko, unfortunately. He is not feeling very well, we respect him and do not want him to get injured more seriously.”
It's unclear how long Mykolenko is going to remain out for, but it's a positive that he doesn't appear willing to risk himself. Everton certainly can't afford for the Ukraine left-back to be out for an extended period of time due to the lack of full-backs David Moyes has in his squad.
Ukraine's next fixture is against Nothern Ireland on Friday evening, which Mykolenko is set to miss. They then host Hungary in the Nations League on Monday, before Mykolenko will then return to England to re-join his Everton team-mates.
Whether Mykolenko will be involved against Hungary on Monday remains to be seen, but hopefully Maldera is unwilling to risk him.
Everton's first game back after the international break is a trip to newly promoted Hull City. The Toffees then host Chelsea at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, while they also have a Carabao Cup clash against Newcastle later this month.
It's a tricky period approaching for Moyes' side, so they'll need everyone available considering the small squad.
In more positive news, Christian Norgaard has returned to first team training, giving him plenty of time to build his sharpness for the return of Premier League action in just over a week's time.