Oleksandr Usyk misses a SITTER just seconds after coming on for his professional football debut

Oleksandr Usyk made his professional football debut on Friday, and missed a sitter just 39 seconds after coming onto the field.

Boxing’s unified world heavyweight champion was seen being put through his pace in training with FC Polissya this week.

And on Friday he came on in the 77th minute for his debut in the Ukrainian second-division side’s 2-1 victory in a friendly against top-division outfit NK Veres Rivne.

Usyk started the game on the bench, but was clearly the man of the moment as cameras often turned to him during the first half.

He then reverted to something more familiar while warming up by shadowboxing on the touchline, before coming on as a striker for Polissya wearing the No 17 shirt.

And fewer than 10 seconds after play had restarted following his introduction, the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion squandered a glorious chance to provide Polissya with a two-goal cushion.  

One of Usyk’s team-mates played a one-two with another Polissya player from his own throw-in before darting into the right-hand side of the area. 

The player also managed to pull the ball back well from the byline into the path of Usyk, whose attempted left-foot stab failed to make contact with the ball, in part due to a bobble. 

But Usyk then settled into the game and exchanged some nice one-twos with his team-mates and even went on a run before playing it to a team-mate who was then fouled.  

Usyk is plying his trade with Polissya during the club’s winter training camp, with their opening Persha Liga campaign due to get back up and running in March.

When speaking about the boxer’s link-up with his side, Polissya director Volodymyr Zagursky said earlier this week: ‘If Usyk strengthens our team, we will offer a professional contract, if not, we will just give a chance to try his hand at football.’

Nevertheless, their chances of signing Usyk on a permanent basis are highly unlikely given he is on the cusp of challenging for the undisputed heavyweight title.

Should he replicate his feat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September last year and beat Anthony Joshua in their rematch – which is expected to take place in either March or April of this year – then the three-belt star will likely lock horns with the winner of Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte’s WBC title clash next.

A mega-fight between the winner of those two bouts would crown the first undisputed heavyweight king in over two decades.

And if Usyk is that man, he would become only the second fighter ever to be an undisputed champion at both cruiserweight and heavyweight, following in the footsteps of Evander Holyfield.