Yegor Yarmolyuk will not play for the Ukrainian national team in the Nations League due to health reasons
Yegor Yarmolyuk, a midfielder for England’s Brentford, will miss the Ukrainian national team’s upcoming matches in the 2026/27 Nations League due to health issues. The player explained that his club has scheduled a period of full rehabilitation for him during the international break.
Earlier, Ukraine national team head coach Andrea Maldera reported that Yarmolyuk has a chronic leg injury and inflammation, which prevents him from being fully ready for matches.
According to the coach, the medical staffs of the national team and Brentford have been in contact regarding the player’s condition.
“A call-up to the national team is always a great responsibility and a privilege for any player. For me personally, it was a childhood dream that recently became a reality. Playing for the national team is an opportunity to represent my country in its colors and give everything I can to make our fans—and everyone who is currently defending our country—proud of the team,” the midfielder wrote.
The soccer player admitted that he is very disappointed that he cannot help the Ukrainian national team, but emphasized the need to complete the full course of rehabilitation.
“I’m very disappointed that I won’t be able to join the team during the upcoming fall international break. As everyone knows, I missed a significant portion of Brentford’s preseason training due to an injury. The club has scheduled a rehabilitation period for me during this time. Even now, I can’t give 100% for the club, no matter how much I’d like to,” said Yegor Yarmolyuk.
According to the midfielder, the recovery process will continue over the next two weeks.
“It’s hard for me—I hate missing games—but I understand that going through the proper recovery process will help me be more effective on the field—both in matches for the national team and for Brentford—in the coming months. Thank you all for your understanding. And let’s keep supporting our guys on the national team!” Yarmolyuk concluded.
Andrea Maldera initially included 30 players on the main roster, with another ten on the reserve list. The roster subsequently underwent changes: Artem Dovbyk and Oleksandr Andriyevskyi were ruled out due to health issues, while Oleksandr Pikhalonok and Ihor Krasnopir were called up to the team. Later, Vladyslav Veletny was called up from the reserve list to join the squad.
The current roster of the Ukrainian national team:
Goalkeepers: Anatoliy Trubin (Benfica), Dmytro Riznyk (Shakhtar), Heorhiy Yermakov (Kharkiv).
Defenders: Illia Zabarnyi (Paris Saint-Germain), Mykola Matviyenko, Valeriy Bondar (Shakhtar), Eduard Sarapiy, Bohdan Mykhailichenko (Polissya), Vitalii Mykolenko (Everton), Taras Mykhavko (Dynamo), Illia Krupskyi (Kharkiv), Oleksandr Drumbaev (LNZ).
Midfielders: Oleg Ocheretko, Yegor Nazaryna (Shakhtar), Volodymyr Brazhko, Mykola Shaparenko, Andriy Yarmolenko, Oleksandr Pikhalonok (Dynamo), Oleksandr Nazarenko, Vladyslav Veleten (“Polissya”), Ivan Varfolomeyev (Lincoln), Georgy Sudakov (Benfica), Maxim Khlan (Górnik), Oleksandr Zubkov (AEK), Viktor Tsygankov (Ajax).
Forwards: Danylo Sikan (Anderlecht), Artem Stepanov (Utrecht), Matvii Ponomarenko (“Dynamo”), Vladyslav Vanat (“Girona”), Roman Yaremchuk (“Olympiacos”), Ihor Krasnopir (“Polissya”).
The reserve list includes Oleksandr Romanchuk, Roman Vantukh, Dmytro Kryskiv, Oleksandr Karavaev, Artem Bondarenko, Artem Shabanov, and Hennadiy Synchuk.
The Ukrainian national team will compete in Group B2 of the 2026/27 Nations League, where its opponents are Hungary, Georgia, and Northern Ireland.
Match schedule:
- September 25 — Hungary vs. Ukraine;
- September 28 — Georgia vs. Ukraine;
- October 2 — Ukraine vs. Northern Ireland;
- October 5 — Ukraine vs. Hungary;
- November 14 — Northern Ireland vs. Ukraine;
- November 17 — Ukraine vs. Georgia.
Thus, Yegor Yarmolyuk will not be able to help the Ukrainian team in the September and October matches, but the national team is counting on his return for the November games. This is precisely the recovery timeframe the coaching staff, led by Andrea Maldera, is counting on.
Yegor Yarmolyuk himself also spoke about the situation on his Instagram.
As a reminder, the Ukrainian national soccer team will not be able to host its home matches in the new Nations League season at the Henryk Reiman Stadium.
Following the conclusion of the Nations League group stage, Volleyball World announced the winners of the statistical awards. Among the recipients of individual awards was Ukrainian volleyball player Dmytro Yanchuk.
