Ukraine's national team suffered yet another squad loss on the eve of the new UEFA Nations League campaign for the 2026/27 season. On Sunday, September 20, in a match of Matchday 7 of the Dutch Eredivisie, Utrecht forward Artem Stepanov sustained a serious injury in the game against Feyenoord. The 19-year-old striker, who was in excellent form at the time of the injury, having scored in five consecutive matches, injured his left ankle during a challenge with an opponent in the 25th minute. After receiving prolonged medical treatment on the pitch, Stepanov attempted to continue the game, but by the 30th minute he signaled to the coaching staff that he was unable to return to the field. According to the Ukrainian Association of Football's press service, the forward left the pitch in tears, and the exact diagnosis and recovery timeline remained unknown at the time of publication.
Emergency Replacement in the Squad: Veletnya Returns to the National Team
In light of Stepanov's injury, the coaching staff of Ukraine's national team decided to urgently reinforce the attacking line. Winger Vladyslav Veletnya of Zhytomyr's Polissya, who had previously been on the reserve list, was additionally called up to the country's main team. For the 23-year-old footballer, this is already his second call-up to the national team: his debut took place in October of last year in a 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Iceland, which ended in a 5:3 victory for the Ukrainians. In the current season, Veletnya has played nine matches for Polissya, in which he has scored two goals and provided three assists.
Context: A Series of Squad Losses Before the Nations League
Stepanov's injury was not the only problem for the coaching staff ahead of the start of the Nations League window. As previously reported, Artem Dovbyk and Andriy Andriievskyi were also left out of Ukraine's national team squad. Thus, ahead of the four-match tournament window, which will take place from September 25 to October 5, the national team has lost several attacking players at once. Stepanov, who had been demonstrating outstanding scoring form in the Eredivisie this season, was supposed to become one of the key players in the national team's attack at this stage.
Contradictory Data
Publications by various Ukrainian sports media show a slight discrepancy in wording regarding Stepanov's status. The primary source — the UAF press service, cited by Sport RBC.UA — states that "the extent of the injury and the recovery timeline remain uncertain for now," and that the footballer himself "risks missing the upcoming camp." Meanwhile, the publication NV.ua, citing the UAF, reports more categorically: Stepanov "will not play in Ukraine's opening matches in the Nations League." Sport.ua, in turn, uses the phrasing "the national team is in question." Thus, at the time of publication, the exact medical verdict on the ankle injury had not been announced; however, the decision to make a replacement in the squad has already been made, which effectively confirms the 19-year-old forward's absence from the upcoming matches.
Schedule and Prospects
Ukraine's national team will play four matches in the UEFA Nations League 2026/27 season between September 25 and October 5. For the coaching staff, the priority task is to compensate for the loss of Stepanov, who had scored in each of his previous five Eredivisie matches. The call-up of Veletnya, who has experience playing for the country's main team and is performing consistently in the Ukrainian championship, looks logical but is not a complete solution to the problem in the attacking line. The final squad for the Nations League matches will be announced in the coming days after receiving a full medical report on Stepanov's condition.
