West Ham defender Issa Diop has paid tribute to teammate Andriy Yarmolenko for his excellent start to the season. The Ukrainian scored his third goal in six matches against Bournemouth at the weekend.

It is an excellent return considering the winger had spent ten months out with an Achilles injury and Diop says the player’s quality is appreciated by the entire Hammers squad:

“Everyone knows the quality of Yarmo. He had a long injury but now he is back 100 per cent and he helps the team a lot. We are big fans of him.”

Yarmolenko has shown tremendous character to come back from such a serious injury and perform at such a high level.

It was a huge setback when he was taken off against Tottenham last season. The 29-year-old had only been at the club a few months after sealing his £18m move from Borussia Dortmund before being sidelined.

Setting into a new club and a new country can be tough even for the best players, but having to overcome a major injury as well demonstrated a man determined to prove himself. Fans will be hoping he keeps up his good start to the season.