Michail Antonio is confident he can “still do the business” for West Ham following his horrific car crash that left him “close to dying”.
Antonio’s Ferrari came off the road in Epping Forest in December last year with pictures of the crumpled car quickly shared on social media.
The 34-year-old spent three weeks in hospital with a badly broken leg but is adamant he will play again as he continues to work on his recovery.
“It’s just made me happy, positive about life, because I’ve got another chance at life.” ❤️
Michail Antonio spoke to @BBCMorningLive to reflect on his near-fatal car crash in December. pic.twitter.com/wljlC6DeQ3
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) March 17, 2025
“I am working six days a week,” he told the BBC. “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.
“I was one of the quickest at West Ham. So 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 and this is just another setback, and it is not going to stop me.”
Antonio had pole inserted in his thigh
Antonio revealed the severity of the injury he suffered, adding: “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.”
Fear of not seeing kids grow up
Antonio has six children and admitted the biggest fear he had in the immediate aftermath was the thought of not seeing them grow up.
“The most difficult part is that I almost wasn’t there for my children,” Antonio said. “It’s just made me happy, positive about life, because I’ve got another chance at life.
“During this, we kept it away from the kids. My eldest saw it, and he struggled with it. He’s 13, and obviously people were showing photos of the car.
“So he came down and saw me in the hospital. But the younger ones, they never really knew how bad the situation was. We kind of avoided letting them get on the internet.”
