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Shakhtar players return to training

Shakhtar Donetsk players Douglas Costa, Alex Teixeira, Dentinho and Ismaily have now returned to training with the club.

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The Brazilians were the last remaining players to return to duty of the six who remained in Geneva after a friendly against Lyon earlier this month, citing concerns over their safety amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Shakhtar have since relocated away from the Donetsk region until the situation stabilises and are now training in Kiev while playing home matches in Lviv.

Fred was the first of the six players to report back for duty, with Facundo Ferreyra following soon afterwards, and Shakhtar CEO Sergei Palkin had said at the weekend that the others were due to return.

Shakhtar president Rinat Akhmetov said the return of the remaining players was "almost like a birthday present for coach Mircea Lucescu," who turned 69 on Tuesday.