Fonseca spent over a day in bunker before 30-hour escape from Ukraine

Paulo Fonseca has relived his 30-hour long exit from Ukraine having spent more than a day in an underground bunker after the country faces an invasion from Russia.

The Italian, who previously worked at Shakhtar Donetsk, was close to being appointed as Tottenham boss in the summer before talks collapsed.

Fonseca ended a holiday in the Maldives to return to Ukraine, the country where his wife is from before Russian mounted their invasion last week to help her family escape the country.

He was woken in the middle of the night by a missile strike, just hours before they were due to leave an apartment in Kyiv.

As their exit route was blocked Fonseca was contacted by the sporting director of Shakhtar, Dario Srna, who suggested returning to Donetsk to take shelter.

They then embarked on a journey that lasted more than a day.

"We didn't know what to do. Everyone was trying to leave Kyiv," Fonseca told Sky Sports News.

"Dario called me and said to come to the hotel owned by the president of Shakhtar. We moved to the hotel there, and stayed in a bunker there overnight, for one and a half days overall, with the Brazilian players from Shakhtar and the technical team.

"I started to think the situation was only going to get worse so we contacted the Portuguese embassy and they said tomorrow, we'll have a car and you can go.

"I decided to leave in the morning, the day after the car picked us up from the hotel and we started a long trip to the border.

"It was dangerous, we travelled all day and night without stopping.

"The journey was 30 hours, more including across the border with Moldova to where we were staying in Romania. I saw many times the troops of Ukraine pass on the road, we stopped and listened to the alarms, many times, and there was a lot of traffic.

"We spent a lot of time going 5kph. During the trip, of course, we were in danger even driving in the night, and I heard the planes passing, but I didn't see shooting or fighting.

"We travelled with another family, a couple with a six-month-old baby. In the end, we arrived on the border and felt safe, which was the most important thing."

Fonseca left Shakhtar more than three years ago but has remained in contact with several of his former colleagues, who are facing horrendous situations.

He said: "I'm in contact all the time with some of the people who worked with me at Shakhtar, they are trying to survive but it's difficult.

"To leave the country now is almost impossible and I'm very worried for them. I would like to help them, so much, but I feel impotent to do that. We're very sad about the situation."