Monday, March 6, 2023 at 1:28 PM• Jordi Tomasowa

Shakhtar Donetsk will play against Feyenoord in the eighth final of the Europa League on Thursday with a battered selection. The Ukrainians are dealing with a huge injury wave. Shakhtar is expected to have only two fit defenders available for the first game with coach Arne Slot’s team.

Shakhtar has recorded two convincing victories since the resumption of the second half of the season. After a 1-4 victory over FK Minaj, Metalist 1925 won 0-7 on Sunday. Of the four defenders who played in the most recent league game, only one is available on Thursday. “We have a problem at the back and we are still puzzling over how to solve it,” said coach Igor Jovicevic on the club website. “We have lost both full backs, Yukhym Konoply and Bogdan Mykhaylichenko, and we are also missing centre-backs Valeriy Bondar and Eduard Kozik due to a suspension.”

Jovicevic also does not yet have access to Maryan Faryna. The nineteen-year-old centre-back has only just recovered from an injury, while Mykola Matvienko was absent on Sunday due to illness. “From our defenders, we can only count on Lucas Taylor and Yaroslav Rakitskyi,” said the 49-year-old coach.

After the two big victories, Jovicevic can focus on Thursday evening’s game against Feyenoord. Due to the war in Ukraine, Shakhtar will play the first leg in the stadium of the Polish football club Legia Warsaw. Jovicevic is wary of the Rotterdam opponent. “I saw the Feyenoord match (against FC Groningen, ed.). I saw their pace, their stars… It’s going to be difficult for us. But we believe that the impossible can become possible, so we will fight for it. That’s the least we can do.”