Star of the Ukrainian national team Oleh Plotnytskyi will not return to the squad for the first week of the Volleyball Nations League. This is reported bySport.ua, citing information from the coaching staff of the 'blue and yellow' and sources close to the national team.
According to the publication, the outside hitter is still awaiting the issuance of a new Ukrainian passport, which is why he was unable to join the team in time for the tournament in China. Initially, it was believed that the former captain of Ukraine might join during the first week of the competition, but this will not happen.
FromSport.uaclarify that despite the intervention of all necessary institutions, the procedure for issuing the documents cannot be completed before June 20.
Nevertheless, the Ukrainian camp remains optimistic that one of the country's best volleyball players will be available for the second week of the tournament. Between June 24 and 28, Ukraine will face Brazil, Italy, Canada, and Bulgaria in Ljubljana.
This means that Plotnytskyi has a real chance to be part of the squad for the match against the Bulgarian national team, although there is no official confirmation of his return yet.
The outside hitter returns to the national team after a long absence, and his decision to wear Ukraine's jersey again was among the most discussed topics before the start of this year's Volleyball Nations League.
Last season, Plotnytskyi was again among the leading figures for Italian Perugia and helped the team triumph in the Champions League. It is precisely for this reason that his potential inclusion in the second week of the tournament could significantly boost the ambitions of the Ukrainian squad in clashes against some of the strongest teams in the world.

photo: Nikolay Varadinov