Michail Antonio has released footage of his painstaking journey to return to full fitness after surviving a horror car crash that left him with a broken leg.
The Hammers front man has not featured since the December accident that required him to be cut from the wreckage of his £260,000 grey Ferrari by fire crews in Essex and airlifted to hospital.
After colliding with a tree on his way home from training in Epping Forest, the striker was trapped for more than 45 minutes and feared for his life. Antonio underwent surgery for a broken leg the following day, but has worked hard on a miraculous recovery which has seen him return to training just four months on from the accident.
On Sunday, the 35-year-old took to Instagram to share a clip of his journey, titling the video with the caption ‘Faith will overcome all challenges’.
The Jamaica international showed clips of himself regaining his strength on his leg that was broken in the accident. The touching montage of his rehab concluded with his return to first team training, as well as the heartwarming scenes at the London Stadium when he was introduced to the West Ham fans in March.
Antonio is out of contract this summer but West Ham are understood to have offered him a short-term deal while he regains his fitness. It remains to be seen whether he will stay beyond the summer or look for a move elsewhere.
Michail Antonio has released footage of his painstaking road top recovery after his horror car crash
He underwent surgery for a broken leg the following day, but has worked hard on a miraculous recovery
The West Ham striker was left with a broken leg back in December after his accident
Last month, a senior Hammers source told Mail Sport: ‘He’s looking at what offers he gets.’
In a May interview with French outlet L’Equipe, Antonio said: ”The question is whether the club wants to extend my contract. That’s my priority, but I’m waiting.
‘Until then, all I can do is focus on my recovery so that, wherever I am next year, I can deliver.’
Antonio also stated that he had ambitions of extending his Premier League goal tally, which currently sits at 68.
‘I’d like to push the record forward so that Jarrod Bowen doesn’t catch me,’ Antonio said of his Hammers team-mate, who is currently on 54 goals.
Antonio also shed light on the support that West Ham gave him in the aftermath of the crash, revealing that the Premier League side had paid for a private room at a hotel for him to continue his convalescence with medial support and privacy.
‘West Ham were incredible for me from the very beginning, and even today, they are there for me every day,’ Antonio added.
But while a potential move away from the club remains in play with his deal drawing to a close, recovery continues to prove a challenging prospect.
The Jamaica international showed clips of himself regaining his strength on his leg that was broken in the accident
Antonio stated that he had ambitions of extending his Premier League goal tally, which currently sits at 68
‘The sessions are very tough,’ the forward continued. ‘After each one, my leg is dead for a few hours!
‘I do a lot of strength and power work to get my body back to normal. I’m still struggling because my brain is constantly telling my leg, “You can’t do it.”‘
But, he added: ‘It’s getting better every day, every week.’
In April, West Ham’s record Premier League goal-scorer revisited the car’s remains at a scrapyard, which put the horror incident into perspective.
‘It gave me a weird feeling in my stomach,’ Antonio told BBC One programme Morning Live.
‘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.
‘All I know is that I hit a tree – I don’t know how I hit a tree – and that the police came and when they found me in the car, I was in between the two seats.
‘From the crash, I’ve been more of an emotional man. I was avoiding going back because I was slightly embarrassed by the crash and the accident. Obviously I’ve almost died in the car crash.’
