West Ham have given their Ukraine midfielder Andriy Yarmolenko some time off following the Russian invasion of his country.
Hammers manager David Moyes has said Yarmolenko is “not in a really good place at the moment”.
The 32-year-old, who has over 100 caps for Ukraine, is being supported by the club.
This week, Yarmolenko posted on Twitter: “Pray for Ukraine #NoWar.”
Moyes said: “He’s not in a really good place at the moment so we’ve given him a few days off. We’ll certainly help him.
Pray for Ukraine 🙌🏻 🇺🇦 #NoWar
— Andriy Yarmolenko (@Yarmolenko_7) February 24, 2022
“It’s a really difficult time for him and his family and we respect that. I spoke with him on Thursday and he was upset and rightly so.
“We hope everything goes well and all his family members keep safe. We’re all saddened by it.
“We’ve just come out of the pandemic and the last thing we want is anything close to a world war.”
West Ham play Wolves at the London Stadium on Sunday.
Yarmolenko is among a group of Ukrainian players who play in the Premier League.
Manchester City’s Oleksandr Zinchenko claimed this week that Instagram deleted a post aimed at the Russian president Vladimir Putin in which he wished him “the most painful, suffering death”.
