Updated Vitalii Mykolenko’s Premier League season is over after he rolled his ankle badly late in the first half of last week’s Goodison derby but he appears to have avoided the need for surgery to repair the damage.
The full-back sustained the injury when Liverpool’s Darwin Nuñez collided with him in the area and left him crumpled on the turf in visible pain, but he returned to the pitch for a few minutes to hobble through the remainder of the half.
Everton did not immediately reveal the extent of Mykolenko’s injury, with Sean Dyche telling reporters on Thursday that the medical staff were waiting for the injury to “settle down” before the player could undergo scans, but the initial prognosis is a minimum of six weeks out of action.
Ukrainian journalist, Viktor Vatsko, claimed yesterday that Club doctors were recommending surgery to fix torn ankle ligaments which would rule Mykolenko out of this summer’s European Championships.
However, following a consultation with a specialist, the former Dynamo Kiev player has been told that he can likely recover without going under the knife in the hope of being fit enough to play for his country in Germany in June.
Regardless, he won’t play a part in any of Everton’s three remaining Premier League matches having made 34 appearances in all competitions for the Toffees.
Mykolenko confirmed via Instagram:
“Firstly I want to say to everyone thank you very much for the words of support, I read everything and see. I do not need surgery and now my goal is to recover as soon as possible and I hope to see you at the Euros.
“For Evertonians, you have been amazing this season, particularly in derby. That’s why I stood up after the twist and played as much as I could. See you next season, Toffees.”