Yarmolenko absence explained

West Ham have confirmed that Andriy Yarmolenko is fine after failing to appear in the Hammers squad against Villa last night.

There was some surprise and a few questions asked among fans when after his bright start to pre-season he was not involved.

But a source inside the club confirmed that the Ukranian midfield man is fine and was simply rested for the game at Walsall.

Such has been the impact of our £17m signing he was expected to play a part but the manager is determined to give game time to as many as possible ahead of Liverpool and we were told it was time for the winger to take a rest.

He is likely to return for the match against Ipswich on Saturday afternoon which kicks off at 3 pm and it is hoped that former Tractor Boy Aaron Cresswell – who is yet to make a pre-season appearance – could be involved.