Southampton ace Lyanco’s Ukraine hell as sister, her Shakhtar star husband Maycon & kids finally escape Russia invasion
RALPH HASENHUTTL revealed the personal hell Southampton defender Lyanco has suffered since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Lyanco’s sister Lyarah had been stuck in war-torn Kyiv with her Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder husband Maycon and their two children.
They have now returned to Maycon’s homeland of Brazil after Shakhtar managed to evacuate 13 members of their squad out of the conflict zone.
But it has been a deeply traumatic few days for the family, as well as for 25-year-old Brazilian centre-half Lyanco worrying about them back in England.
Saints boss Hasenhuttl said: “He was not good. For three days, definitely not.
“Everybody tried to help him. You know that your sister is there and, at first, there was no chance to get out. Now she has made it.
“This is one reality of millions there. Millions of people have, maybe, a relationship with somebody in this country and this is why it affects nearly everybody.”
Hasenhuttl, who himself looked visibly shaken in yesterday’s pre-match press conference, said the whole Southampton squad had been affected by the horrifying events unfolding in Ukraine.
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And that it had made their day jobs seem almost “ridiculous” as they prepare for tonight’s visit of West Ham in the fifth round of the FA Cup.
The Austrian said: “I have been really struggling in the last week to concentrate on my job, to concentrate on ridiculous football at the moment.
“The only good thing is that you have two or three hours during the game when you’re not thinking about it.
“The rest of the day is affected by worrying about children, women, people dying in a needless war.”
Some Saints fans had urged the club to wear their yellow and blue away kit tonight in solidarity with the Ukrainian people, whose country’s flag is the same colours.
Southampton had already agreed to wear their home strip against the Hammers — but they will don their yellow and blue kit at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Saturday.
That was planned before the events of the last week but now holds an extra significance.
While the club also hope to give fans blue and yellow scarves to wear at Villa Park to show their support.
We have a big challenge to get two hours a day where you can forget about what is happening. This is very hard because it is everywhere and affects everybody.
Ralph Hasenthuttl
On motivating his players tonight in light of global events, Hasenhuttl admitted: “It’s tough at the moment to find the right mindset for what we’re doing.
“But, in the end, we all have to function and that’s what we’re doing.”
Hasenhuttl took Southampton to the semi-finals of the FA Cup last year, where they lost to eventual winners Leicester.
It goes without saying that he would love to win a trophy for his club — but right now the biggest challenge is simply taking his players’ minds off the war.
He added: “At the moment, we have a big challenge to get two hours of a day where you can forget about what is happening.
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“This is very hard to do because it is everywhere and it affects everybody.”
SOUTHAMPTON (likely): Caballero, Walker-Peters, Stephens, Salisu, Perraud, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Diallo, Redmond, Adams, Broja.
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