A splintered tree and the shattered remains of Michail Antonio’s £260,000 Ferrari today reveal how the star footballer is lucky to be alive as police investigate the cause of the crash amid fears that his injuries are career-threatening.
The 34-year-old Premier league striker was found badly hurt and confused after being thrown from the driver’s seat into the passenger side of his Italian supercar after the smash in Epping Forest on Saturday lunchtime.
He is believed to have been stuck in the wreckage for an hour after the crash before being cut out by the emergency services and rushed to a central London hospital. His ex-wife Debbie, the mother of his four children, rushed from her home in Manchester to be with him.
Michail is conscious and speaking while recovering after surgery on a lower limb fracture. Experts have said he faces a minimum of a year out of the game and growing fears that he could even be forced to retire, given his age.
As police investigate the cause of the incident, which took place on a bend where there are warning signs for roaming deer, fragments of the Ferrari’s engine and body are scattered around the silver birch tree it flew into in Theydon Bois.
has found the scene of the crash in Essex, where the Ferrari careered off the road and into a large tree. The trunk is badly damaged, with sections gouged out and bark splintered, but it is still standing.
Michail’s car window, windscreen, engine parts, shattered lights and bodywork is amongst the debris left scattered on the edge of Epping Forest, where he was driving to his mansion after training ahead of his team’s match with Wolves at the London Stadium tonight.
Police appealed for witnesses and dash camera footage which may have recorded Saturday afternoon’s crash. The West Ham star is unlikely to face any criminal proceedings and the police probe is said to be ‘a matter of routine as a motorist suffered injuries.’
Antonio’s car left the road on a country cut through which has a 40-mile speed limit and is close to West Ham owner David Sullivan’s palatial home.
There are series of bends and warning signs to drivers to look out for roaming deer.
One local dog walker said: ‘I hope the footballer is alright. it’s a really sad thing to happen. Drivers do slow down around here because of the deer and because of the bends’.
Essex Police has confirmed the accident was being investigated.
Antonio’s potential injury recovery prognosis has reportedly been revealed, after the West Ham star suffered a car crash at the weekend.
The Hammers confirmed in a statement on Saturday that the 34-year-old had endured ‘a lower limb fracture’ after a crash involving Antonio’s silver Ferrari, with the forward rushed to hospital.
The shock news emerged on Saturday afternoon, with clubs and figures from across the football world rushing to pay their tributes and send well-wishes to the Jamaican international.
The east London club later provided an update on the player’s condition, informing that he was ‘conscious and communicating and is currently under close supervision’ as images surfaced of a silver Ferrari with considerable damage to the driver’s side.
With West Ham later revealing the injury sustained by their striker, talkSPORT’s Jim White shed light on the player’s reported expected recovery period after sustaining ‘serious damage to one of his legs’.
‘I’m told this morning he remains in a stable condition in hospital, receiving the full support of the NHS and the West Ham medical staff,’ he told talkSPORT.
‘Now he has sustained serious damage to one of his legs and it’s thought is going to be a long haul recovery, and it will be at least 12 months before it’s known whether or not he’ll play football again.
‘I was told this morning Michail is a fighter. He’s in a very strong physical condition because he is a top class footballer and that may help him and come as a bit of an advantage when it comes to his recovery.’
It comes after a report from The Guardian had claimed that the player could be looking at ‘at least a year’ in rehabilitation before any return to action.
Furthermore the report states that there are fears over whether the player will be forced to ‘retire from football’ as a result of his injuries.
As reported by The Sun, Antonio’s first words following the crash were: ‘Where am I? What’s going on? What car am I in?.’
Samuel Woods was driving home after walking his dog in Epping Forest and saw the car on the roadside.
Woods told The Sun: ‘I said to him “hello” to see if anyone was alive.
‘I heard sirens and told him that help was on its way.
‘He was so disorientated. He said, “Where am I? What’s going on? What car am I in?”
‘The paramedics got there really fast. I couldn’t believe what happened. The car smelt of petrol.’
Woods stated that Antonio wasn’t able to make sense of what he had heard. He added: ‘I looked at him and thought, “He’s in big trouble”.
‘I just said, “You’ve had an accident”. He didn’t reply. He was looking around trying to make sense of what I just said. He was sitting in the passenger side.’
As messages from across the game flooded in for Antonio, his former manager Martin Allen, who coached him while he was on loan from Reading at Cheltenham Town in 2009, has sent out an emotional tribute to the star.
He posted on X on Saturday: ‘Michail Antonio has been awesome for West Ham over these last few years I took him on loan and used to give him lifts home to London after the matches home and away to see his family.
‘He’s a diamond bloke and after wiping away a few tears I hope he makes a full recovery.’
A day later, he suggested the shocking incident could galvanise a struggling Hammers side ahead of their crucial Premier League clash with Wolves on Monday, saying: ‘Today would have been a real tough day at the training ground. The shock of a team mate in hospital.
‘To prepare mentally for this game will be tough for the players and manager.
‘Let’s hope MA [Michail Antonio] can be inspirational to all of us supporters, his team mates and the manager.’
He added shortly after: ‘West Ham United will win tomorrow night. I’m sure this tough weekend will galvanise the players, manager and staff.
‘Also after a testing time, I think the West Ham United supporters will unite and do everything they can to support the players and manager. It’s got to be.’
Following the crash, it emerged that the player was trapped for more than 45 minutes as fire crews attempted to free him from his car.
Essex Police confirmed they were launching an investigation into the incident that occurred just before 1pm on Coppice Row in Epping and called for witnesses to help their investigation.
‘We were called shortly after 12.50pm on Saturday 7 December to Coppice Row, Epping, following reports of what is believed to be a single vehicle collision involving a Ferrari,’ a spokesperson said.
‘Emergency services attended and the driver has been taken to hospital. The vehicle has been recovered and we are no longer on scene.
‘An investigation will be carried out by our Roads Policing Unit. If you have any information, CCTV, dash cam or other footage in relation to this incident, then please get in contact with us.’
Essex Fire Service also confirmed firefighters had released a man trapped in his car.
A statement read: ‘Crews were called to High Road, Epping, at 1.02pm this afternoon after reports of a road traffic collision involving one car.
‘In arrival, firefighters reported that a man was trapped in his car and worked to release him by 1.45pm. The casualty was left in the care of the Ambulance Service.’
Antonio has made 323 appearances and has scored 83 goals since joining West Ham in 2015. He is West Ham’s record Premier League goal scorer, and has been awarded their annual Player of the Year award.