West Ham boss Graham Potter hopes Michail Antonio will return to training soon – just four months after the striker broke his leg in a horror car crash.
On December 7, Antonio was airlifted to hospital with a broken leg after being cut from the wreckage of his £260,000 grey Ferrari by fire crews in Essex.
After colliding with a tree on his way home from training in Epping Forest, Antonio was trapped for more than 45 minutes and feared for his life.
The 35-year-old is not expected to return for the Hammers this season, but is close to being back on the grass with his team-mates, according to his manager.
Antonio hasn’t played for West Ham since the 3-1 defeat to Leicester on December 3. Last month, he returned from a 12-day warm weather training programme in Dubai.
Potter said: ‘He’s progressing, step by step. He’s away from us at the moment just training but he’s due back soon.
Graham Potter has revealed that Michail Antonio is ‘due back soon’ in West Ham training
The 35-year-old was in a devastating car crash in December which left him with a broken leg
Antonio has not played since December 3 and is out of his contract at the end of this season
‘We’re happy with how he’s going. We’re supporting him and it’s going well.’
Regarding off the pitch matters, Potter was tight-lipped when he was asked to offer any assurances about a new contract for Antonio.
The Jamaica international is determined to resume his career when he is fit but will be out of contract at the end of the season.
Potter added: ‘Any contract discussions will remain, as you’d expect, between the club and the player. It’s not for me to comment on that. When we’ve got something to announce we’ll announce it.’
Antonio escaped his crash with a badly broken leg and had his femur bone put back together after it was shattered in four places.
The West Ham record Premier League goal-scorer revisited the car’s remains at a scrapyard last month, 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.
Antonio has played 323 games for West Ham and is their record Premier League goal-scorer
‘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.’
Antonio is now determined to recover as quickly as he can and previously revealed his rehabilitation process is going swimmingly.
‘I’m a good three months ahead of where I should be,’ he said at the end of last month.
‘I’ve lifted 130kg on the leg and I’m trying to do other things and just focus on myself.
‘Now it’s just made me happy and positive in life because obviously I’ve got another chance at life.’
On his playing future, he added: ‘One hundred per cent I will play again.’
The accident was Antonio’s second in a fast car after he crashed his £210,000 Lamborghini Huracan into a bin shed in Balham, south London, on Christmas Day 2019 while dressed as a snowman.
