Pikhalyonok: I think my recovery will take about three weeks, I need to completely remove the pain

For the first time this season midfielder of the national team of Ukraine and Dnepr-1 Alexander Pikhalyonok missed his team’s game in the UPL in the 2023-2024 season. This was due to an injury received in the last round. ABOUT recovery time frame the footballer said after the match.

— IN Last round, in the game with Zorya, you were replaced already in the seventh minute of the match. What injury did you receive and how are you feeling now?

— I have a tear in the anterior thigh muscle. I think my recovery will take about three weeks.

— Was the injury sustained in a scheduled match?

– No. Even earlier I had a spasm, then the pain went away, but not completely. Apparently, it was necessary to immediately do an examination. We all hurried and, alas, the injury made itself felt. Moreover, the injury happened at a completely harmless moment. I had an MRI and they saw the tear.

— Is it a shame that the team manages without you in the decisive matches of the championship?

– Of course, it’s a shame. I believe that I am in optimal condition now. And I played at a good level with Kolos, and I achieved a lot in the training process. Now you need to fully recover and remove the pain, and then get into good physical shape again.

— The match with Metalist 1925 Dnepr-1 was confident, Gutsulyak scored a goal, and then you failed to build on your success. Why?

“I think we played the whole match well. Perhaps by the 65th minute of the game we got a little tired. Sometimes they gave the initiative to the Kharkovites. The hosts had one chance in the first half and two set pieces in the second half. We had moments that are called scoring chances. Of course, we would have needed to score a second goal and everything would have been calmer. And so, with the score 1:0, the enemy can always have the opportunity to equalize the score. In the second half, Zhenya Volynets saved us once.

— During this meeting, Metalist 1925 defender Maxim Imerekov shot at your goal twice after set pieces and hit the crossbar twice. He evened the score. Could you have played with him more closely at your own goal?

— We analyzed the opponents’ game. Here I would like to note the good passes that found Imerekov. Maxim made a great header, and this is always dangerous.

— Cyou’re glamorous, where they constantly woo you: then to Girona, then to another European club?

— I don’t really read such news. Yes, and I treat such publications with caution. I have a contract with Dnepr-1. It is clear that the transfer window will open in the summer and there will be a lot of news. For me, now the main thing is to recover from injury.