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Vitalii Mykolenko has confirmed he missed Everton's recent home defeat to Aston Villa due to back discomfort.

The Ukrainian left-back was signed by Rafa Benitez prior to his sacking as Blues boss and has made two appearances for the club since arriving from Dynamo Kyiv.

Mykolenko was handed his debut away to Hull City in the FA Cup on January 8 and was back in action one week later as Everton fell to a costly away defeat to Norwich City.

There was confusion as the 22-year-old was then missing from the matchday squad a fortnight ago against Aston Villa, resulting in Ben Godfrey deputising in his absence.

But the talented youngster has now opened up on why he was unable to feature for the team in their eventual 1-0 defeat.

"I missed a few training sessions in the week leading up to the game after having some discomfort in my back following the Norwich defeat," he explained.

"I wasn’t sure if I would make the squad as a result."

Despite only being at the club for a matter of weeks, it seems that the new arrival has already left a lasting impression on his team-mates.

Fabian Delph appears to have developed a strong relationship with Mykolenko, though the Blues midfielder is no stranger to making connections with Ukrainian left-backs.

Delph played alongside Oleksandr Zinchenko at