Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published Saturday, February 14, 2026 21:52 / Updated Saturday, February 14, 2026 21:55
Ajax's match against Fortuna Sittard started in a terrible way. Oleksandr Zinchenko, the player of the “spearers”, was given a starting place, but had to leave the field after only two minutes. Following a hard foul from behind, the Ukrainian could no longer continue. Owen Wijndal came on in his place.
This is a huge blow for Ajax, who signed the Ukrainian from Arsenal in the winter transfer window. Zinchenko played his first minutes for Ajax last week in the 1-1 draw away to AZ and impressed immediately. Fred Grim immediately offered him a starting place in the home match against Fortuna, but he was injured from the first steps on the Johan Cruyff Arena.
Oleksandr Zinchenko started, but got injured after only 2 minutes
In the second minute, Zinchenko got into a duel with the player from Fortuna, Dimitrios Limnios, and everything went wrong. Limnios hit him from behind, high on the leg, after which the left defender fell to the ground and grabbed his knee. The doctors quickly realized that the situation was serious and even a stretcher was needed. In the end, the Ukrainian limped off the pitch. While going into the tunnel, Ajax scored the 1-0 goal, but concerns are high, according to sportnieuws.nl.
Zinchenko was brought in to guide Grim's players in the race for second place. With his experience and qualities, he should have become a key player. Now this is in question.
Oleksandr Zinchenko arrived in the Premier League in 2016 and was immediately loaned to PSV. Upon his return, he entered Pep Guardiola's team directly and stayed with the “citizens” until 2022 when he was acquired by Arsenal. He played for the Gunners for three years, and from the summer of 2025 until this winter he was loaned to Nottingham Forest. Ajax paid 1.5 million euros to bring him to Holland.
He played 11 games this season. He has 75 caps and 12 goals for the Ukrainian national team. It is quoted by specialized websites at 15 million euros. He has 4 Premier League titles, 4 League Cups and an FA Cup. He was named the best Ukrainian football player in 2019.
