Shakhtar lose their main defender for a long time

Defender of Donetsk's "Shakhtar" and the Ukrainian national team, Valeriy Bondar, has been sidelined due to an injury, as reported by the YouTube channel "TaToTake."

According to the source, the footballer has been diagnosed with a collarbone fracture, which he sustained during a match in the first round of the Ukrainian Premier League against "Metalist 1925" from Kharkiv (2:1). The estimated recovery time is about two months. Thus, he is expected to return to action in October after the break for national team matches.

Valeriy Bondar is a product of "Shakhtar's" youth academy and has been playing for the first team of the Donetsk club since 2016. He has appeared in 75 matches in all competitions, scoring two goals and providing one assist. With "Shakhtar," Bondar won the Ukrainian championship three times in the seasons 2018/2019, 2019/2020, and 2022/2023. He also won the Ukrainian Cup in the 2018/2019 season and the Ukrainian Super Cup in 2021.

Since 2020, Bondar has been playing for the Ukrainian national team, where he has featured in three matches, without scoring goals or providing assists, but he received one yellow card.