Julen Lopetegui opens up on Michail Antonio’s injuries following horrific car crash – as the West Ham boss provides an update on his future

West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui believes Michail Antonio will recover from his horror crash to play football again.

Antonio, 34, suffered ‘a fracture of the lower extremities’, as well as multiple injuries following an incident in the Essex area involving his silver Ferrari last Saturday, which saw the attacker rushed to hospital.

The east London club later provided an update on the player’s condition, informing the public that he was ‘conscious and communicating and currently under close supervision’ when images emerged of a silver Ferrari with significant damage to the front right wing.

Local police appealed for dashcam footage and witnesses as officers continue to investigate the serious collision in Epping on Coppice Row, which happened shortly after 12.50pm.

Following the crash, it emerged that the player, who has since undergone surgery, was trapped for more than 45 minutes as firefighters tried to free him from his car. Some reports claimed that Antonio’s career was in jeopardy.

However, ahead of Monday’s visit to Bournemouth, Lopetegui expressed his confidence that the Hammers’ all-time top scorer in the Premier League will return to the pitch in the future.

He said: ‘The most important thing is that he is alive, he is good. He broke his femur, but he will definitely recover.

‘He’ll need time. It’s about time. Now it’s time, but the good news is that he has time, because when you see that the car was terrible, the accident, then we are happy.

‘Because in the end, despite the fact that we are unhappy because we have lost a very important player for us, we are happy because he will be ready.

‘Now he is strong, he will definitely have recovered in the next month and he will be ready to become a player.

“The first thing you have to do is be a man and then a player.”

Antonio is expected to remain in hospital for weeks to come, and questions may remain over whether he can resume his career.

Sources close to Antonio say he is lucky to be alive but felt well enough to FaceTime his West Ham teammates and share a joke before watching them complete a huge win over Wolves on Monday, which he called from his hospital bed.

Mail Sport then exclusively revealed that senior team members have visited Antonio to provide support for their friend and teammate, who have more plans to engage in the coming days.

Hammers midfielder Tomas Soucek dedicated his goal against Wolves to Antonio on Monday night and said he couldn’t wait to visit him.

“He’s a huge player and he’s in my heart,” Soucek said after the win over Gary O’Neil’s side.

‘It was really tough for us. I was with the kids and I saw it on my phone. I sent everyone a message asking what happened and how he is doing. I was so scared of what would happen. It was a very tough week for him, his family and us.

‘We had a video call with him before the game, the whole team. He smiled at us and gave us all the best. He even made a few jokes before the game and wished us all the best. I can’t wait to visit him.’

West Ham paid tribute to Antonio ahead of the Wolves match by warming up in ‘Antonio 9’ shirts, while they also walked out in tops with his name on them.

Club captain Jarrod Bowen then joined Soucek in similar fashion and dedicated his goal to the Jamaican star.

Meanwhile, Lopetegui’s comments come next The times reported that West Ham are considering a heartwarming gesture to support Antonio and his family during his recovery.

The forward is not expected to play for the rest of this season due to the injuries he suffered and his contract expires in the summer.

However, the report claimed that the Hammers may extend the 34-year-old’s contract, and that talks will take place once he leaves the central London hospital where he is.

It is said that Antonio earns more than £90,000 a week, with the report adding that the club has no insurance to cover the situation and will therefore pay his wages for the remainder of the season.

The forward turns 35 in March and has scored 83 goals for the club since joining from Nottingham Forest in 2015, while he is also their record goalscorer in the Premier League.

If the Hammers were to extend Antonio’s deal, it would do so after giving former defender Angelo Ogbonna an extra year when he suffered a serious knee injury in November 2021.

Lopetegui’s team are currently fourteenth in the Premier League and travel to the Vitality Stadium on Monday evening to take on Bournemouth.