The head coach of the youth national team of Ukraine Ruslan Rotan spoke about the team's preparations for the 1/4 finals of Euro 2023 against France.
Ruslan Rotan. Photo: gettyimages.comOn recovery and moving to another city
"Let's just say that we had more time to prepare for this match. If we had won first place in the group, we would have had less rest per day. It so happened that we became the second, we have already arrived in Cluj-Napoca, and we have more time to recover. In principle, the guys have already recovered, everything is fine. Some of them have minor injuries, but I think they will be fine for the match."
On Mykhailo Mudryk's health condition
"Thank God, he's already having his second training session in the main group, so we're happy about that. Will he play against France? Potentially, everyone can play. We still have a day to assess the situation and see how the guys have recovered. Of course, we will talk to the doctors a little bit and make a decision on the eve of the match.
Yes, it's true that Chelsea's doctors came. Our doctors worked together with them. Basically, the Chelsea doctor came and saw that our specialists were doing everything right. It was one day to check and get to know our doctors. As you can see, fortunately, our doctors put Mykhailo back on his feet during this time."
On other players' injuries
"Bohdan Viunnyk has an injury to his arm. He had an MRI scan and everything seems to be fine. But at the last training session, he fell again, so we will see what condition he is in closer to the match. We will consult with the doctors and make a decision. As for the others, some players have minor injuries, but the guys are seriously eager [to play] - this is the most important thing."
On preparations for the game against France and the set-up
"We have only pre-game training, theories. We can't think of anything new to do, as these days are still available for the players' recovery, who are already a bit tired in this time crunch. But I repeated to them: now more than ever we need to be focused, now more than ever we need to find motivation, now more than ever we need to prepare for the next match and take this crucial step to get to the 1/2 finals.
First of all, as always, we would like to send our congratulations to our soldiers and thank them for what they do for us. And we would like to thank our fans for their support, for cheering for us, coming to our matches in Romania and supporting us. So, please support us - we will do our best, we will fight, and I hope that everything will be fine."
