Thursday 28 March 2019 17:29, UK
Everton boss Marco Silva says he warned Colombia manager Carlos Queiroz over the fitness of Yerry Mina, who was injured on international duty.
Mina suffered a "serious" hamstring injury during Colombia's 2-1 friendly defeat to South Korea on Tuesday, having also featured in Friday's 1-0 win over Japan.
The 24-year-old Everton defender, no stranger to setbacks this season, faces another spell on the sidelines and though Silva could not give a firm timetable for his return, he said that he was sure Mina would be back before the summer.
"We knew it could be a risk for him to play the two matches, it was something in our communication with the national team," Silva said. "We cannot control it, it's their decision of course but we tried to advise them.
"It was always a risk for him to play in a short period the two games. They decided and unfortunately for us and for Yerry he took the injury."
Asked he was angry or unhappy with Queiroz's decision, Silva added: "It's not a matter of being unhappy.
"My colleague is also Portuguese and we had this communication, but of course he decided the best thing for the national team was to always have the best players.
"(The injury) is not for the season. Let's see how many weeks he will be. Now is not the right moment to say how long but we expect to see Mina again here soon training and playing in our blue shirt."
Mina will certainly miss Saturday's trip to West Ham, a key fixture for Everton against a side two points above them in the congested mid-table of the Premier League.
West Ham handed Silva his first defeat as Everton manager back in September - conversely a first win for Manuel Pellegrini as Hammers boss - but Silva believes much has changed since then.
"I think both teams are completely different now, which is normal within one season," he said. "(The game in September) was completely different to the game we will play on Saturday.
"It will be a tough match, I don't have doubts. In some moments they show inconsistency also but they have a strong team and their home form for the last few games has been really good.
"It will be a good challenge for us to go there and break that home form."
