Andrea Maldera on Benfica player's injury: it limited our changes | OneFootball

Georgiy Sudakov left Ukraine’s match against Northern Ireland, which ended in a 3-0 victory, visibly shaken and with physical complaints. The condition of the Benfica midfielder put the Eagles’ officials on alert after the Ukrainian international left the pitch in tears. After the match, played in Slovakia, Andrea Maldera admitted that the injury to Benfica’s No. 10 had a direct impact on the team’s management and forced changes to the plans set for the second half.

"I wanted to bring on Varfolomieiev in the second half, but Sudakov got injured and that affected our substitutions. We understand that certain moments are crucial and can completely change the course of the game. The first goal took the match in another direction and the game became more favorable for our opponent," explained the Ukraine coach.

The moment of greatest concern for Benfica came in the 64th minute. Near the touchline, 24-year-old Sudakov was brought down heavily by Brodie Spencer. The Northern Ireland defender went in very aggressively and caught both of the Benfica player’s legs.

Sudakov received treatment for several minutes on the pitch and even tried to recover to stay in the game. However,

His departure left no doubt about the difficulties he was experiencing. Sudakov left the pitch limping, visibly shaken and supported by teammate Mykola Matvienko, increasing the concern surrounding his physical condition.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.