Former Gunner Oleksandr Zinchenko suffered what appears to be a serious injury just minutes after making his first start for new club Ajax on Saturday.
Photo via Onzegodenzonen on Instagram
Arsenal sold Alexander Zinchenko to Ajax for €1.5 million in the January transfer window, cashing in on the left-back before his contract expired in June.
advertise
Zinchenko quickly joined Ajax’s squad and played against AZ Alkmaar last week, coming on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw. He was subsequently named in the starting XI for Saturday’s match against Fortuna Sittard.
Unfortunately, the defender’s home debut for Ajax didn’t last long as he suffered a knee injury in a clash with Dimitrios Limnos less than three minutes into the game.
Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
The 29-year-old was immediately substituted and limped off the pitch with the help of medical staff on both sides. He seemed to be in real pain when he came off the field, and head coach Fred Grim was trying to stay positive amid concerns about a serious injury.
advertise
“It’s unclear how serious Oleksandr Zinchenko’s injury is,” Grim said (via The S*n ). “He will have an MRI scan tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
“Hopefully we’ll know more soon and it won’t be too serious.”
Photo by Sean Botterill/Getty Images
This is clearly a far cry from the start Zinchenko had hoped for at his new club, especially considering he is now likely to miss Ukraine’s crucial World Cup qualifiers in late March.
A knee injury could mean missing months of competition, which could even put Zinchenko’s participation in the World Cup itself at risk. But if the problem is less serious, he may only face a few weeks of offseason.
Everything now depends on the results of an MRI scan in the coming days.
