OPINION
Manuel Pellegrini provided an injury update on West Ham winger Andryi Yarmolenko and appeared to be hesitant to use him before the season ends.
The Hammers boss shared that the 6ft 3in tall attacker (Source: Transfermarkt) was working very well and playing with no pain, but when returning from an injury as serious as rupturing your Achilles tendon, patience was required.
“Yarmolenko is working very well, he has no pain, he is running, kicking the ball, but maybe it will be too soon for him to play before we finish,” Pellegrini said as transcribed by Football.London.
“Achilles tendon is one of the worst injuries you can have because you cannot go faster, you must exercise the ligament and then wait for month.
“To play this season I don’t think it would be good for him, it is better to do a very good pre-season. If you return after a long injury you get muscle injuries.
“He must be calm and wait for next season working hard, and we will see the player that we brought because he is a very good player.”
Pellegrini is right to be hesitant to risk calling Yarmolenko back into the first-team fold before the season ends, even if he could just about make the final game, as it’s better the 29-year-old rests.
An Achilles tendon injury always has a chance of reoccurring if a player returns too soon and it would be terrible news if Yarmolenko returned only to then have his pre-season effected due to suffering a set-back.
While the winger himself is no down chomping to return to action as soon as possible, it may be a blessing in disguise for his return to come next season.
Aside from there being less chance of him re-injuring himself, the Hammers are currently struggling for form and several players seem to be mentally on their holidays already.
Yarmolenko will want to make a grand return to the first-team, as he only got to show Hammers fans glimpses of his talent before getting injured, and even if he plays out of his skin, he’ll struggle to impress if his teammates aren’t at the races.
The 29-year-old is the type of player who can carve out chances for his side, but his efforts will be wasted and not look as impressive, if he doesn’t have teammates willing to convert the opportunities he creates.
With this in mind, it’s probably a blessing for Yarmolenko personally that Pellegrini won’t risk him, as next season the Hammers should be in a better state than they are now.
