The head coach of Aris said that a back injury did not allow Kokorin to show his best side

The head coach of the Cypriot Aris, Alexey Shpilevsky, said that a back injury did not allow Russian forward Alexander Kokorin to express himself to the fullest.

Kokorin scored the goal in the 12th second in the match of the 26th round of the Cyprus championship against AEL. This is the fastest goal in the history of the Cypriot championship. Five minutes later, the 32-year-old Russian scored a double and helped Aris win with a score of 4:0. In total, this season Kokorin played 23 matches, scored eight goals and gave two assists.

— How ready is Kokorin now?

– I wouldn’t like to talk about it. I just want him to enjoy football. I do everything for this, I try to charge him so that he brings great benefits to the team. Plus, for the last three or four weeks his back had been hurting and tormenting him. This is the reason that prevented him from showing his best side. But now he is recovering.

— Is your back completely gone now?

– Not 100%. This is a long process, you need to take care of your back. He is being treated, supporting her, and is working on the prevention of vertebrae,” RB Sport quotes Shpilevsky.

Kokorin was recognized as the most valuable player of the Cyprus Championship in 2023 according to the country’s Union of Sports Journalists. The Russian, whose rights belong to the Italian Fiorentina, became the champion of Cyprus last season.