Phoning soldiers to loading lorries: Oleksandr Zinchenko's incredible unseen Ukraine support between Man City matches

As Oleksandr Zinchenko celebrated another barnstorming performance to take his national team to within 90 minutes of what would be their second ever World Cup, he will have smiled wryly at how he could have been fighting for Ukraine's history in a very different way.

The first thoughts of the Manchester City star in February as he tried to process the abject horror of his country being invaded by Russia were the safety of his family. His parents were safe but his aunt and grandad were not and were stubbornly refusing his desperate pleas for them to escape danger; a bomb going off opposite the hospital where his grandad was in the day before he travelled to Everton with Pep Guardiola's squad only increased the player's fears, yet he couldn't do anything about it.

His next urge was to swap a Premier League title battle for an actual war on the frontline. Ukraine needed every man they could get against superior Russian numbers, and Zinchenko was ready to commit himself to that cause.

Also read: Man City star Zinchenko sends emotional message on Ukraine win over Scotland

Close friends and family advised him that he could make more impact through his employment with the Premier League champions, but despite the risks it was clear for him and his wife Vlada from the outset — a Ukranian sports reporter — that taking the silent option and avoiding the politics of their homeland being under attack was never an option. Ever since that fateful February day, Zinchenko has juggled the pressure of elite sport with doing everything he can to help his people.

The first days were the hardest because of the uncertainty. As his parents hid in basements and bomb shelters 1500 miles away, Zinchenko wanted to do anything he could to help, but