Michail Antonio has revealed he almost died when he crashed his Ferrari last December but the West Ham striker is adamant that he will recover from a badly broken leg to play again.
Antonio, who spoke with disarming honesty in an interview with BBC One’s Morning Live, feels he has been given “another chance at life” as he continues his gruelling recovery.
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West Ham’s record Premier League goalscorer is determined to revive his career but he knows that he is lucky to be alive. Antonio can remember nothing from the accident, which occurred when he was driving home from training and crashed into a tree in Epping Forest on a stormy Saturday. The seriousness of it hit home when the forward saw the remains of the car at a scrapyard three weeks ago.
“It gave me a weird feeling in my stomach,” Antonio said. “It just made me realise how close I was to dying. I had seen the pictures but it was 10 times worse in person. The car was an absolute mess. It was difficult for me.”
The Met Office had issued warnings for Storm Darragh on the day that Antonio’s family, friends, fans and colleagues were left fearing the worst. He said conditions were “wet, windy and horrific”, and that he was thinking of returning the car because of concerns over its safety, but he cannot remember anything else.
“It’s weird, because the whole way through this, I have been told that I was awake and was speaking to everybody – the police, the people, and the person who found me,” Antonio said.
“My leg was completely shattered and they got me out and put a splint on it by the side of the car. Everyone believed I got an air ambulance out, but the helicopter couldn’t get off the ground because of the storm, so I was driven to the hospital.
“I shattered my femur bone in four different places. I had one single keyhole surgery. They put a pole in my thigh with four bolts, so screws and bolts to knit it back together. My first surgeon said he didn’t want me to put any weight on my leg for three months, which is around about now, and you can see that I am walking.
“We got a second specialist who said I needed to start putting weight on it, increasing from 10% up to 100% within three weeks. But I kept my crutches for a further two weeks. Overall, they say it will be between six to 12 months before my leg starts healing properly.”
Antonio, who joined West Ham in 2015, is expected to be out for the rest of the season. But he has shown resilience and determination throughout his career – he started out in non-league and has grafted to reach the top – and is targeting a return.
“One hundred per cent I will play again,” he said, although there have been challenging moments. Antonio was rocked by his physio recently asking whether he had career-ending insurance. “I didn’t sleep a wink that night,” he said, but he believes that he will be running soon. “I am working six days a week. I’ve always been positive from this situation. It’s the biggest injury I’ve ever had.
“But the fact that I’m already two to three months ahead of where I should be, I know that I’ll play again, and I know that once I’m playing the game I’ll get the sharpness back. I was one of the quickest at West Ham. My body wasn’t the body of a 34-year-old before I had the accident anyway. I can still be sharp and still do the business. People have always doubted me. My mental strength is something that I’ve always believed in. This is just another setback and it is not going to stop me.”
Antonio, who was left with a sick feeling in his stomach when he thought about not being around for his six children any more, found it tough when West Ham replaced Julen Lopetegui with Graham Potter in January.
“It was one of the hardest things, the fact a new manager came in and I wasn’t there to show what I can do, with my contract up at the end of the season,” he said. “The only thing I can focus on is me and making sure I am right. If I rush myself then that will be the reason I didn’t get a contract.”
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