Michail Antonio has revealed he had been considering returning his Ferrari just before his near-fatal crash.
The West Ham forward, 34, had a terrifying brush with death after crashing his car into a tree in Epping Forest last December. While he claims to have no memory of the crash itself, he clearly recalls the safety concerns he’d been having about the vehicle in the days leading up to the accident.
“The back of the car kept swinging out on me, so I didn’t feel safe,” he told the BBC. “I had had it for three weeks and I was already thinking about giving it back.” have reached out to Ferrari for comment.
The crash resulted in a broken leg, which ended his season and put his career in jeopardy. “The police came and when they found me I was in between the two seats. I wasn’t actually in the driver’s seat,” Antonio recalled. “They said it looked like I was trying to climb out of the window, but because my leg was so badly broken, the pain probably stopped me from being able to get out.”
He added: “I have been told that I was awake and speaking to everybody – the police, the people, and the person who found me. 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 [Storm Darragh], so I was driven to the hospital.”
The Jamaica international spent over three weeks recovering in hospital, and last month he visited the scrapyard to see the remains of his wrecked Ferrari. “It gave me a weird feeling in my stomach,” he admitted. “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 burning question now is whether Antonio will return to football. He’ll be 35 at the end of the month, and with a long recovery ahead, doubts are being raised about whether a comeback to top-tier football is feasible.
However, Antonio is confident that not only will he return, but he’ll be back to his best sooner than expected. He admitted, though, that he was worried when his physiotherapists asked him about career-ending injury insurance. “I didn’t sleep a wink that night,” he claimed.
“I’m focused on [returning quickly] and [that’s] why I am working six days a week. I’ve always been positive from this situation. It’s a horrendous accident, and it’s a massive injury. It’s the biggest injury I’ve ever had in my career. 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.
“People have always doubted me. My mental strength is something that I’ve always believed in and this is just another setback, and it is not going to stop me.”
Antonio’s contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and being unable to impress new manager Graham Potter, who replaced Julen Lopetegui in January, has left him in a tough spot. He’s earning a significant £85,000 per week, and while the Hammers are considering a contract extension out of goodwill, their disappointing league form may make this financially difficult.
Nonetheless, the club have been supporting his rehabilitation, including a recovery trip to Dubai that included physiotherapy, rest, and meditation. They’ve also helped coordinate charity efforts to raise funds for the emergency responders who pulled him from the wreckage.
“The love feels good,” Antonio said, fighting back tears after returning to the London Stadium earlier this month. “When I got into football, I did it as a hobby and didn’t support any clubs. Now I am definitely a West Ham fan. What the club did for me, the support they gave me on and off the field, the hospitals and the specialists, was unbelievable. I thank the club, the fans, the emergency services, the people around me.”
Antonio has scored 83 goals in 323 appearances for West Ham, but had only netted once in 15 matches this season before his life-changing car crash.