EVERTON star Vitaliy Mykolenko has opened up on the heartbreaking daily phone call he makes to his parents back in Ukraine.
The full-back, 25, is set to be in action in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday night.
Vitaliy Myolenko could feature in Wednesday’s Merseyside derby[/caption]
Before the game he will check in with his parents, as he does every morning.
Mykolenko’s dad, Sergei, and mum, Olesia, still live at their family home near Kyiv in war-torn Ukraine.
With Russia continuing to bomb Ukraine, as they have done since invading in February 2022, Mykolenko makes sure to phone his parents before heading to Everton‘s Finch Farm base for training.
Speaking to the Mirror, he said: “I ask, ‘Are you okay?’ Sometimes it is bad news, they couldn’t sleep, sometimes it is okay.
“It is hard for me to be here but harder for them because they are there.
“They don’t know what can happen this night or the next night when they are dropping missiles and bombs at night. You never know.”
As a top-level athlete and member of the Ukraine national team, Mykolenko continues to inspire those back home.
Stars of other sports like Elina Svitolina and Oleksandr Usyk have also had an inspirational effect – with Mykolenko having met the latter.
He said: “I think he’s the best sportsman at the moment in Ukraine, the best boxer in the world.
“He’s a good guy. I spoke with him a few times when he came to visit us with the national team.
“He’s a very calm guy, very friendly. [You] can ask him everything, how he prepares for the big fights, it’s interesting to listen to him about how it is difficult.
“I know he was on the front line, not many times but more than once.
“You can help the people on the front line financially but sometimes it is better to help mentally.”
Mykolenko missed out on Everton’s 2-0 FA Cup defeat to Bournemouth over the weekend.
But boss David Moyes has confirmed that the left-back has returned to training and could be back in contention.
The Scot, 61, will have to do without Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Youssef Chermiti, Armando Broja, Dwight McNeil and Orel Mangala.
