Michail Antonio is finally discharged from hospital, 24 days after the horror car crash which broke his leg – and now faces talks over West Ham future
- Antonio was involved in a car accident earlier this month and required surgery
- His contract expires at the end of the season and his future is unclear
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West Ham striker Michail Antonio has been released from hospital after the horror car crash that left him with a broken leg.
Antonio, 34, was rescued from his £260,000 Ferrari after veering off the road near Theydon Bois, Essex, on December 7 and requiring surgery.
The crash, which took place in Epping Forest, left him in his passenger seat and trapped for more than 45 minutes as firefighters tried to free him.
Antonio was on his way home from the club’s Rush Green training ground ahead of their Premier League match against Wolves when he crashed into a tree.
Later that evening, West Ham confirmed that he was in stable condition following his procedure.
The attacker has now been released from hospital 24 days after the accident and is recovering at home. He will not play again this season.
West Ham striker Michail Antonio has been released from hospital after his car accident
After his contract expires at the end of the season, Antonio’s future at the club remains uncertain
Antonio, West Ham’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League, is out of contract this summer and no decision has yet been made on a possible extension.
However, it is believed that discussions will take place in the near future.
His teammates were shocked after disturbing photos of his totaled supercar began circulating online and soon visited him in hospital along with staff members.
Antonio was forced to spend the festive period under medical supervision as his devastating leg injury was likely to keep him out of action for more than 12 months.
Sources close to Antonio said he was lucky to be alive after the incident but felt well enough to FaceTime the team and share a joke before watching them beat Wolves at the London Stadium from his hospital bed.
The Jamaican international is said to be on more than £90,000 a week and a report of The times claimed the club has no insurance to cover the situation. As a result, they will be paying his wages for the rest of the season regardless.
Antonio, who turns 35 in March, has scored 83 goals for West Ham since joining from Nottingham Forest in 2015. He also played for Sheffield Wednesday and Reading.
Following the accident, Hammers manager Julen Lopetegui expressed confidence that Antonio would return to the field in the future.
West Ham confirmed Antonio was in a stable condition following his procedure on December 7
The forward is the club’s all-time record goalscorer in the Premier League and joined the club in 2015
“The most important thing is that he is alive, he is good,” Lopetegui said. ‘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 is to be a man and then a player.’