Michail Antonio is a marvel and testament for many that hard work pays off – after overcoming personal toll in recent years, his extraordinary story has taught us that very little can stand in his way after car accident

One of West Ham’s biggest stars, Michail Antonio, was involved in a serious road accident on Saturday and is now being treated in hospital, as well wishes pour in from the football community. .

In a brief statement on Saturday evening, West Ham confirmed the news, revealing images of a broken-down silver Ferrari believed to have been in the Essex area earlier in the day.

One image showed most of the right front of the car nearly torn away from the rest of the vehicle.

However, the club did not confirm what injuries had been suffered by the player, who was ‘conscious and communicating’ not long afterwards. This was hugely encouraging news for those close to the player.

Fans and clubs from across the game rushed to social media to send their love to Antonio and those closest to him in the aftermath of his accident, with former teammate Jobi McAnuff leading the way as the world rallied to lend support .

Antonio is a miracle in his own right and proof to many that hard work always pays off. He has worked his way up the English football pyramid in just seven years, from Non-League Tooting and Mitcham to West Ham.

Born in Wandsworth to Jamaican parents, Antonio played semi-professional football for Tooting and Mitcham from the age of 17 and probably couldn’t have predicted the rise he would make through the game.

A versatile and physically powerful player, Antonio spent time at Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest before joining the Hammers in 2015, initially as a full-back and right winger before paving his way into the number 9 jersey.

That change in position has served both the player and the club well, with Antonio the Hammers’ record Premier League goalscorer topping the charts 68-21 ahead of second-placed club legend Mark Noble.

His perseverance and resilience have made him a much-loved figure at the club, earning him the annual Hammer of the Year award in 2017, but he has also had to overcome off-field adversity along the way.

The 34-year-old has four children and was previously married to Debbie Whittle, whom he married in a June 2017 ceremony at the Hoar Cross Hall Hotel in Staffordshire, although the couple are now divorced.

The split from his former partner took its toll on the striker, who revealed earlier in 2024 that he had started therapy during a difficult period in his career, when he openly admitted he was no longer in love with football.

The forward admitted that he “just started to hate the game” amid a period of extreme fatigue caused by events outside football, at a time that should have been one of his happiest: winning the Europa Conference League with West Ham. last year he was severely ‘mentally exhausted’.

“I was dealing with my divorce and everything, and I honestly couldn’t ignore it,” Antonio told the website High performance podcast. ‘After we won, the whole team went out, the gaffer (David Moyes) went out, got going, a few guys didn’t sleep for two days, just got drunk for two days.

‘I slept on the bus and went back to the hotel. “I was just mentally exhausted from everything that was happening outside of my football and then I went back to the hotel and went to sleep while everyone was partying.”

‘It wasn’t until December that I was in a better place and thought, “Oh my God, I’ve won a European Championship.”

He noticed during a match in December 2022 that he kept thinking: ‘I don’t enjoy football.

‘During the match I thought: ‘I really don’t like this.’ I just felt quite negative. I am a very positive person myself.

“I didn’t score from December until I think it was March, April. And I just felt exhausted. And then I left with Jamaica because for some strange reason I enjoyed football with Jamaica. But I was actually praying for an injury.

‘I was like, “I just want to get injured, I want some time off.”

“And then I left with Jamaica and did my medial (knee ligament, in November 2023).

‘I thought to myself, “I’m 33. I can’t afford to perform like this or I won’t get a new contract.”

“So it’s all those things circling through your head. You think: “Is this the end for me? Is this over my football career?”

After first seeking help in December 2022, Antonio met with a number of therapists after initially turning to his club’s doctors and the PFA before finally deciding to take the next step on his own.

Antonio cited the grueling club and international demands on players’ schedules as contributing to his feelings about football, adding: ‘Because football is just constant, you’re in it all the time.’

After initially rejecting their advances with an ambition to play for England, Antonio eventually declared for Jamaica in 2021 and has since made 21 appearances and scored five times for his country.

One of those goals in particular may stand out from the rest; his goal in Jamaica’s 3-1 defeat by Ecuador in June was the first his country had ever scored in a Copa America tournament.

Antonio is one of the standout names in his side, while Leon Bailey, Isaac Hayden and Ethan Pinnock are also regular stars for the Premier League’s Reggae Boyz.

Given his importance to his side, Steve McLaren and Co will be hopeful that Antonio can recover in time and guide them to what would be a sensational World Cup qualification, having reached the final just once in 1998.

Antonio has spent his career defying expectations and conventions; Much like the legendary story of Jamie Vardy, Antonio simply refused to let go of his ambitions and dreams of playing in the Premier League.

Having established himself as one of the senior heads in the West Ham dressing room and established himself as one of the leading stars for his country, you could say that Antonio has already achieved more than he could have hoped for as a teenager playing for Tooting played. and Mitcham.

It is still unclear what injuries the player sustained after his accident on Saturday. The club indicates that a new update will be released ‘in due course’. But if there’s anything his extraordinary story has taught us so far, it’s that little can stand in his way.