Alex Zinchenko trains with Man City ahead of Everton after Russia invades Ukraine

Alex Zinchenko trained with Manchester City on Thursday and is expected to be available for the Everton game on Saturday despite war breaking out in his homeland.

The left-back wrote emotively on social media two days ago with Russia threatening to invade Ukraine, insisting that he 'couldn't stand back, and strove to make his point'.

He added: "My country belongs to Ukranians and no one will ever be able to appropriate it."

When the news emerged that Russia had started their attack on Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning, Zinchenko hit back strongly; he wished death on Russian president Vladimir Putin in an Instagram post that he insisted had been taken down without his consent — Instagram later said they were investigating the allegation — and questioned 'what the freaks were doing' in footage that appeared to show missiles striking Ukranian homes.

Despite his anger at the situation in his home country, Zinchenko was still able to train with the rest of the squad and will train again tomorrow as he prepares for Saturday's game at Goodison Park.

In a quirk of the fixture list, two of the three Ukranians in the Premier League will be at the same ground this weekend after Everton signed Vitaliy Mykolenko in the January transfer window; West Ham's Andriy Yarmolenko is the only other Ukranian in the English top flight.

Zinchenko has made the last five matchday squads after recovering from illness and injury in January, starting away at Norwich and making two appearances from the bench.

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