West Ham ace Andriy Yarmolenko left in tears after sending family to Kyiv
West Ham have had Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko to thank for their last couple of victories but it’s been a tough time for him off the pitch.
The 32-year-old scored late winners against Aston Villa and Sevilla but the invasion of his homeland by Russia has led to some very dark days away from football.
He revealed on the Football 1/2/3 YouTube channel (a Ukrainian channel) that he had really struggled with the news having sent his family to Kyiv days before the invasion occurred.
“When it all started, on February 24, I arrived at training and couldn’t even talk. I had tears flowing. I asked the coach to let me go home,” Yarmolenko said, as quoted by the Metro.
“I didn’t believe this could happen. I sent my family to Kyiv because my child had to have a doctor’s appointment.
“Can you imagine what I was like when it started the next morning? I just wanted to run and hit my head against a wall. What a fool I was sending my family to Kyiv and I am sitting in London.”
Strength in adversity
It is completely understandable to have this reaction in such disastrous circumstances but now his family is all safe and well, he should hold his head up high.
It would be easy to collapse under the sheer stress and guilt he may have felt but those days off he had while he went to get his family out of his homeland have helped no end.
Not only that, but he has stepped up to a whole new level since then and his two crucial goals have kept the Irons in the European chase in both the Premier League and Europa League.
The admiration every fan, both home and away, has shown the 32-year-old and his fellow Ukrainians in the Premier League proves how strong a group and an individual can become when they are faced with tough times.
No one is pleased that this awful abomination has happened and the sooner it ends the better for everyone but you have to admit that Yarmolenko’s resilience in such a time has been inspirational.
In other West Ham news, a surprising reason has emerged as to why this Hammers ace hasn’t jetted out for the international break.
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