Zinchenko’s Injury Impacts Ajax’s Season Plans

omidbasir- Oleksandr Zinchenko was expected to address issues on the left flank for Ajax, but he has suffered a significant injury. The experienced left-back will be unavailable for the rest of the season. According to Valentijn Driessen, this situation will benefit Owen Wijndal.

Wijndal is set to capitalize on Zinchenko’s absence. Initially hailed as Ajax’s most significant winter acquisition, Zinchenko sustained a serious knee injury during the match against Fortuna Sittard. In the Kick-off podcast by De Telegraaf, Driessen pointed out that Ajax is likely to face difficulties with Wijndal in the left-back position, stating, “Wijndal simply isn’t delivering enough. If he had performed at the level he did at AZ, he would have been the starting left-back for Ajax for the next four or five years.”

The situation has been described as a major setback in the football podcast of Algemeen Dagblad, where Ajax analyst Johan Inan referred to it as a dramatic development. “He aimed to help Ajax secure second place and hoped to win the playoffs with Ukraine. The World Cup was intended to be the crowning achievement of his career. He has played in three European Championships but has yet to participate in a World Cup.” Inan noted that while Zinchenko’s absence may not directly cost Ajax their second place, it certainly complicates their plans, emphasizing that Zinchenko was viewed as Ajax’s most pivotal winter signing. “In the first ten days, they realized: this is exactly what we needed.”