West Ham Chairman David Gold Intends to Call Andriy Yarmolenko Following Injury Diagnosis

West Ham's joint chairman David Gold has confirmed his intentions to personally contact Andriy Yarmolenko after the winger was sidelined for six months with a serious Achilles injury.

The Ukrainian attacker only joined the Hammers from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, but was forced off in the first half of his side's home defeat to Tottenham. Scans later revealed the winger had suffered a torn Achilles, with surgery ruling him out for at least half a year.

Julian Finney/GettyImages

Writing from his personal Twitter account, Gold said: "Andriy Yarmolenko has undergone surgery to repair a damaged Achilles tendon and is expected to be sidelined for around six months. 

"I will personally let him know that we will all support him through this difficult time and we all wish him a speedy recovery."

The Ukraine international had figured prominently in his debut season in the Premier League, scoring twice in West Ham's opening nine games. Both his league goals came in West Ham's impressive victory away at Everton where the winger produced arguably his best performance in a Hammers shirt to date. 

The timeline on the injury means Yarmolenko is likely to only just return for the back end of the Premier League season. Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny suffered a similar injury in his side's game against Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Europa League last April and has only just returned to full training with the Gunners.