Ukrainian sport doctor condemns Everton for 'negligence' regarding Mykolenko injury

Vitalii Mykolenko has withdrawn from Ukraine's squad for the current international break after suffering a recurrence of the injury that kept him out of Everton's first two games of the new Premier League season.

The full-back sustained what appeared to be a groin injury in the Blues' pre-season game against Roma last month and missed the visit to Leeds United and the first competitive match at Hill Dickinson Stadium the following weekend.

Mykolenko returned to the team for the Carabao Cup Second Round tie against Mansfield and played the full 90 minutes at Wolves last Saturday but is now set to undergo further treatment on the injury when he returns to Finch Farm.

Dmytro Babelyuk, a Ukrainian sports doctor in contact with his national set-up it seems, has expressed his frustration with the situation and levelled some fairly unbridled criticism of Everton's medical team for 'rushing' Mykolenko back into action.

"Vitalii Mykolenko has left the Ukraine national team camp with another muscle injury," Babelyuk wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Why? Because Everton rushed him back on the pitch just 18 days after his last injury and made him play 2 full 90s in 3 days. That’s not recovery, that’s negligence.

"Shocking unprofessionalism from Everton which is unbelievable to witness in 2025, in the Premier League. Now Mykolenko faces a longer rehab — but does anyone at the club even care?"

Meanwhile, Mykolenko's understudy, Adam Aznou, completed an 80-minute run-out for Everton's Under-21s yesterday in a 2–1 defeat to Doncaster Rovers having recovered from an ankle problem.