“Outrageous unprofessionalism,” — sports doctor on Vitaliy Mykolenko’s injury

<>As it has been reported, Everton defender Vitaliy Mykolenko had to leave the Ukrainian national team’s camp due to an unresolved old injury.

Sports doctor Dmytro Babeleuk, known for his work with Lviv’s “Rukh”, placed the responsibility for Vitaliy’s condition on the medical staff of the English club:

“I don’t want to start with the words ‘I told you so’, but here we are. ‘Great thanks’ to Everton, who managed to put a player on the field on the 18th day after a muscle injury and immediately let him play 90 minutes twice within 3 days. This is outrageous unprofessionalism and amateurism! There are many emotions, let them find those responsible, but this is a failure of the structure — from the coaching to the medical staff of Everton.

It is unbelievable that this happens in a club of the level of the English Premier League in 2025! I find it hard to imagine how a coach with proper coaching education and understanding of football can make such decisions and knowingly expose a player to the risk of injury, which does not benefit the club, the national team, the player, or even the coach himself, who loses a key asset.

Now Vitaliy is facing rehabilitation, as a re-injury requires significantly more time for recovery. But whether this is of concern to anyone at Everton — is a big question…”