West Ham boss David Moyes claims that Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko has been on the phone to his family virtually all day amid the ongoing situation between his homeland and Russia. The 32-year-old was granted compassionate leave to sit out Sunday’s win over Wolves, and Moyes claims that he will not be rushed back to action.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a widely-condemned military assault on Ukraine last week.
The horror is ongoing, with civilian casualties continuing to rise as Russia targets various sites in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson described the acts as ‘barbaric and indiscriminate’, while the international community have been urged to do everything possible to help as hundreds of thousands attempt to flee the country.
Yarmolenko’s family are still there, and Moyes shed light on the winger’s situation ahead of Wednesday night’s meeting with Southampton.
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“We’re all really feeling for him. I asked him if he wants to stay away. For the hour or so he came in for training, he probably cleared his mind a little, got some training done.
“We’ll assess and see how he is. When your country’s at war and you’ve got family members over there, it’s very difficult to focus on the game. That has to be taken into consideration.
“We’ll give him the choice. We won’t push him at all.
“He has lots of family and friends in Ukraine. He is worried for everyone.”
Yarmolenko, who spent nine years with Dynamo Kyiv, has scored 11 goals in 75 appearances since signing for the Hammers in 2018.
He is Ukraine’s second-top scorer of all time with a whopping total of 44, and recently donated £75,000 to his country’s armed forces.
His West Ham team-mates wore shirts with his name on during the warm-up to their game against Wolves, and they could be without him again for their trip to St Mary’s.
Moyes’ side currently sit fifth in the Premier League table, two points behind Manchester United, although Arsenal and Tottenham are quickly creeping up behind them with games in hand.
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