Michail Antonio, the Jamaica international winger who plays his club football for West Ham United, is lucky to be alive after being involved in a horrific car crash that has left him with a serious leg injury.

The 34-year-old lost control of his powerful Ferrari near to Epping Forest, Essex at the weekend, as he was driving in horrendous weather conditions and had to be cut free from the wreckage of his vehicle before being airlifted to hospital for emergency surgery, on what has been described as a “lower limb fracture”.

His £260,000 “super car” had the right wing ripped off, the door missing and the windscreen demolished as fire crews battled for nearly an hour to release the popular forward from the mangled remains. 

Antonio scored Jamaica’s first ever goal in a Copa America tournament in the summer in a 3-1 defeat by Ecuador and their Football Federation, via national team coach, Steve McClaren wished the player a “speedy recovery”.

Since joining the Hammers in 2015, Antonio from Wandsworth in south London, has become a favourite with supporters having scored 83 goals in 323 appearances for the club and helping them win the Europa Conference League in 2023.

The early best-case scenario points to a full 12 months of rehabilitation, but given his age and severity of the injury, it will remain unclear for some time as to whether he will be forced to retire from football all together.

Storm likely to have played a part

The road was described as being “very slippery” as the country was being battered by Storm Darragh with torrential rain and 90mph winds.

The Jamaican international seemingly lost control, with a witness confirming that there was no other vehicle involved.

Paramedics arrived quickly as the footballer tried to understand just what had happened to him. Apparently his first words were: “Where am I? What’s going on? What car am I in?” 

Mother of his children makes 200 mile dash to his bedside

After his operation, the player was described as being in a stable condition, “conscious and communicating”.

Upon hearing the shocking news, his ex-wife Debbie Whittle drove the 200 plus miles from Manchester to London to be at his bedside.

Although now divorced, they have four children together and remain on friendly terms.

Club statement

His club, West Ham United, have asked for privacy for their player with a spokesperson saying: “Michail will continue to be monitored in hospital over the coming days; everyone at the club wish to express its sincere gratitude to the football family at large for the overwhelming support shown since the news.”

They went on to say: “We also extend a heartfelt thank you to the emergency services and first responders who attended to Michail in the immediate aftermath of the incident, and the medical team who continue to aid him in his recovery. The club will provide further updates when appropriate.”

Important player for Jamaica

Antonio did initially harbour dreams of playing for England and was called up to squads in both 2016 and 2017, but did not play.

He then decided to accept an approach by Jamaica in June 2021, but problems over his passport delayed his debut.

Eventually he gained his first cap in against Panama, before notching his first goal for the country in a World Cup qualifier against El Salvador, helping secure a point in a 1-1 draw.

He then was part of the Jamaican squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup in the United States.

Too early to write him off

To date he has scored 5 goals in 21 appearances for Jamaica, but the prospect of adding to those numbers appear slim at this present moment in time.

That said, his friends and colleagues all state how strong and determined an individual he is, so it would be ill-advised to right him off at this stage.