---
title: "Injuries and roster changes: how Dynamo Kyiv is preparing for the start of European competitions"
description: "Igor Kostyuk announced the list of injured players of Dynamo Kyiv before the match with Universitatea. Osipenko, Zakharченко and other leaders will miss the game, but Yarmolenko made it into the squad. Find out how injuries will affect the European prospects of the Kyiv team and what scenarios await the team next. ⚽🏥"
date: 2026-07-08T19:04:00.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/injuries-and-roster-changes-how-dynamo-kyiv-is-preparing-for-the-start-of-european-competitions
tags: []
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Injuries and roster changes: how Dynamo Kyiv is preparing for the start of European competitions

![Head coach of Kyiv Dynamo Mircea Lucescu at a press conference discussing the team's preparation for European competitions and personnel issues](https://xab.info/media/2026/07/09/travmy-i-kadrovyie-perestanovki-kak-dinamo-kiev-gotovitsya-k-startu-evrokubkov/travmy-i-kadrovyie-perestanovki-kak-dinamo-kiev-gotovitsya-k-startu-evrokubkov-1.webp)

Kyiv's Dynamo has begun the decisive stage of preparation ahead of the start of the European season. However, the plans of head coach Igor Kostyuk have been significantly adjusted by injuries to several key players. At the pre-match press conference, the specialist announced a list of footballers who will miss the upcoming clash with Romanian Universitatea.

### List of injured players

According to information provided by the coaching staff, several leaders will not be able to help the team in the match against Universitatea. Osipenko and Zakharченко, who recently underwent surgery, are out of the game. Also on the list of absentees are Popov and players with minor injuries, including Justin Lonweyk. Kabaev and Tymchik are recovering from injuries.

Despite these losses, the team continues active preparation for important matches. At the same time, long-time leader of the capital club Andriy Yarmolenko made it into the squad for this match, which was a pleasant surprise for fans.

### Scenarios for the European path

Dynamo is set to play two matches against Universitatea: July 9 in Lublin and July 16 in Cluj. The outcome of this confrontation will determine the further path of the Kyiv team in European competitions.

- In the event of a successful outcome, the Kyiv team will advance to the second qualifying round of the Champions League, where their opponent will be Greek PAOK.

- In case of failure, the team will continue its tournament journey in the Conference League, where in the second round it will play against Norwegian Brann.

### Summer transfers and personnel changes

The summer transfer window has been a time of serious changes for the capital club. After seven years of playing, Alexander Karavaev left the team, moving to Donetsk Shakhtar. Midfielder Alexander Yatsyk continued his career at FC Kharkiv.

In exchange for the departing players, Dynamo strengthened the squad with new acquisitions and returning loaned footballers:

- The attacking line was bolstered by French forward Pierre Mungenge.

- The new goalkeeper of the club became Ilya Olkhovoy.

- Returning to the team were Alexey Gusev, Navin Malysch, Vladislav Herich, Justin Lonweyk, Valentin Rubchinsky, Roman Salenko, and Angel Torres.

- On the rights of a free agent returned 32-year-old Polish defender Tomasz Kędziora.

These changes should help Dynamo overcome difficulties with injured players and successfully start the new season.