Vitalii Mykolenko has confirmed he missed Everton's recent home defeat to Aston Villa due to back discomfort.
The Ukrainian left-back was signed by Rafa Benitez prior to his sacking as Blues boss and has made two appearances for the club since arriving from Dynamo Kyiv.
Mykolenko was handed his debut away to Hull City in the FA Cup on January 8 and was back in action one week later as Everton fell to a costly away defeat to Norwich City.
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There was confusion as the 22-year-old was then missing from the matchday squad a fortnight ago against Aston Villa, resulting in Ben Godfrey deputising in his absence.
But the talented youngster has now opened up on why he was unable to feature for the team in their eventual 1-0 defeat.
"I missed a few training sessions in the week leading up to the game after having some discomfort in my back following the Norwich defeat," he explained.
"I wasn’t sure if I would make the squad as a result."
Despite only being at the club for a matter of weeks, it seems that the new arrival has already left a lasting impression on his team-mates.
Fabian Delph appears to have developed a strong relationship with Mykolenko, though the Blues midfielder is no stranger to making connections with Ukrainian left-backs.
Delph played alongside Oleksandr Zinchenko at Manchester City and has spotted similarities between the two defenders.
"He told me he understands a lot of English but he’s still finding it hard to speak it himself for now," he said of Mykolenko while being interviewed by the wife of the City star.
"But I told him: 'Don't worry, when I first arrived at City we signed a player called Zinchenko and your English was much better than his was'.
"I understand that the scouse accent can be hard to understand but think he’s a determined guy and will be speaking English in no time.
"I had heard of him before he arrived at Everton. I had seen him in the Champions League and for the national team. Funnily enough, I think he should be starting left-back ahead of Zinchenko. He’s got a better left foot that him! - I'm only joking.
"He’s a prospect. In training he’s a really high work ethic, is always asking for the ball and has a great left foot. So for me I think he has a bright future at Everton. When you move to such a high intensity league, you need time to adapt.
"He’s got great technical ability. This will help him out in the final third. He’s really good at providing the ball to his teammates. He’s played a lot of matches for his young age so he’s a very experienced player."
