West Ham Striker Michail Antonio Makes Long-Awaited Return to Football After Horror Car Crash

West Ham striker Michail Antonio has made his return to football six months after being involved in a near-fatal car crash.

Michail Antonio Makes Return After Horror Car Crash

After close to six months away from football, Michail Antonio has finally made his return to the field of play.

The West Ham star was involved in a horrific, almost fatal car crash last December, where he crashed his Ferrari into a tree in Epping. He was left with extensive injuries, and required surgery on a lower limb fracture.

A statement revealed that he’d shattered his ‘femur bone in four different places’.

After being discharged from hospital at the end of December, it was expected that he’d be kept out of football for at least a year. However, Antonio has made his return ahead of schedule, turning out as a late substitute for Jamaica on Monday.

The 35-year-old was introduced in the 85th minute of The Reggae Boyz‘s Gold Cup opener against Guatemala. He was unable to find the net in the closing stages, with Steve McClaren’s side suffering a narrow 1-0 defeat.

Michail Antonio came on as a substitute for Jamaica in the Gold Cup in his first appearance since a serious car crash in December.

The forward has not yet returned for club West Ham but came on in the 85th minute in Jamaica’s 1-0 group stage defeat by Guatemala in California.
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Regardless, his short cameo provided a significant milestone on his road to full recovery.

Antonio will have the opportunity to add more minutes in Jamaica’s remaining Group C fixtures against Guadeloupe and Panama. They face the former in the early hours of Saturday, 21 June, and the latter early on Wednesday, 25 June.

Michail Antonio’s Recovery Timeline

After revealing that he came ‘close to dying’ in the horror car crash, it was confirmed that Antonio had travelled to Dubai in February for warm-weather training in an attempt to build up his fitness for the latter stages of the season.

Hammers boss Graham Potter later confirmed that he had been kicking balls again.

He also revealed that there was hope that the forward would be involved in West Ham’s squad before the end of the season, ahead of schedule, however he failed to feature in a matchday squad.

Antonio also missed out on Jamaica’s World Cup qualifying fixtures against Guatemala and the British Virgin Islands at the start of the month. Despite this, he was still included in the final squad for the Gold Cup in the United States.

The veteran striker could be in line for his first professional start since November against Guadeloupe on Saturday, with his last coming in a 5-2 defeat to Premier League runners-up Arsenal in Gameweek 13.

Is Michail Antonio Staying at West Ham?

As it stands, Antonio’s rumoured £90,000-a-week contract is due to expire at the end of June.

Given his unique situation though, West Ham have confirmed that they will continue to support their all-time leading Premier League goalscorer in his recovery. Officially, he will be listed as a ‘free transfer’ due to administrative purposes.

The Hammers wrote in a statement: “Given Michail Antonio’s unique situation, following his serious road traffic accident in December 2024, there will be no formal decision and announcement on his future until such time that it is considered right and appropriate.

“However, as his current contract is also due to expire on 30 June, for the purposes of the Premier League Retained List procedure at the end of the 2024/25 season, Michail will be listed as a free transfer.

“As a long-serving, highly-respected player, and a much-loved member of the West Ham family, the club’s absolute priority at this time is to support Michail personally in his journey to resume playing at the highest level.”

Antonio will be desperate to impress in his remaining Gold Cup outings this month, as he looks to prove his fitness in order to earn himself a new contract at the London Stadium or to attract potential suitors from elsewhere.