West Ham give update on Michail Antonio’s future after near-fatal car crash

West Ham manager Graham Potter has shared an update on the future of Michail Antonio, five months after the player was involved in a near-fatal car crash.

Antonio crashed into a tree in Epping Forest on his way back from training on a stormy Saturday in early December.

The 35-year-old suffered a broken leg and spent more than three weeks in hospital – a miraculous outcome given the horrific nature of the shunt.

Amazingly, the forward has already returned to light training and previously said he was ‘100 per cent’ certain his playing career would continue.

However, his contract with West Ham expires at the end of the season, with Potter looking to overhaul his squad in his first summer at the London Stadium.

Antonio joined the East London club in 2015 and is their all-time record goalscorer in the Premier League, with 68 goals in 268 appearances.

The Jamaica international was a key player under David Moyes and instrumental in the team’s Europa Conference League triumph in 2023.

But his impact has waned since then, finding the back of the net just once in 15 games this campaign before his crash.

On Friday, West Ham announced that their other out of contract stars – Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal and Danny Ings – would leave in the summer, but Antonio’s omission suggested that he may stay on given the circumstances.

Asked if this was the case, Potter said the club were yet to make a decision on Antonio’s future but acknowledged the forward was in a ‘unique situation’.

‘When we have something to announce, we will announce it,’ the former Chelsea boss said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday’s clash at Manchester United.

‘It’s a unique situation with Michail in terms of how he’s recovering from his injury. He’s doing fantastically well, he’s going through a lot, we’ll support him and that’s the main thing at the moment.’

Though Antonio does not remember the crash itself, he does recall feeling uneasy in his Ferrari, saying back in March: ‘The back of the car kept swinging out on me, so I didn’t feel safe. I had had it for three weeks and I was already thinking about giving it back.

‘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.

‘My leg was completely shattered and they got me out and put a splint on it by the side of the car.

‘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.’

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