Ukraine international Vitalii Mykolenko was substituted after just 10 minutes during the Hill Dickinson Stadium friendly with Roma
Everton were forced into an early substitution when Vitalii Mykolenko suffered an injury in the final friendly of pre-season.
The left back collapsed in a heap after a sliding challenge that led to Roma winning a corner in the tenth minute. He initially received treatment on the pitch but David Moyes was quickly informed the Ukraine international would need to be replaced.
The severity of the scare is not as serious as it would have been before the club’s pre-season tour of the USA last month. During that trip, the Blues secured the signing of teenage left back Adam Aznou from Bayern Munich. Moyes had started pre-season with no cover in that position following the exit of Ashley Young this summer.
But any injury to Mykolenko would cause concern at Finch Farm due to both the lack of depth in the Everton squad and the importance of the defender to the club’s impressive defensive record over the past two seasons.
With the Premier League season set to start next weekend, Moyes’ squad still lacked depth as it faced Roma in the final test event at Hill Dickinson Stadium. That was despite the return to fitness of Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski and new additions including Mark Travers, Thierno Barry, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Mark Travers.