In December 2024, West Ham United striker Mikhail Antonio was involved in a terrible car accident who fought him with a broken thigh and for his life.
Antonio was caught in his Ferrari for over 45 minutes after he fell against a tree in Epping, Essex. He was finally flown to the hospital, where he was operated on the following day.
At the moment when he saw the wreck of his car in a scrap site weeks later, he saw, Antonio told BBC One’s Morning Live: “It only made it clear to me how close I was dying. I had seen the pictures, but it was ten times worse. The car was an absolute chaos.”
Remarkably, the Jamaica International is back in training just a few months after the crash – proof of its determination and resilience. In order to mark this progress, Antonio shared an emotional and inspiring video on Instagram and gave the fans an insight into his recovery trip.
Caption “Faith will overcome all the challenges”, the assembly begins with the film material from him in a hospital bed and follows his slow, determined steps when he learns how to run strength in his injured leg and build up again.
The video also contains touch scenes from its return to the London Stadium in March, where it was introduced to West Ham fans, as well as the film material of his first steps back on the training area.
The video contains the voice of the motivational speaker Eric Thomas and contains the powerful line: “Pain is temporary. It can take a minute, it can take an hour, a day or even a year. But it will finally let up and something will take its place.”
Antonios video quickly attracted admiration and support from current and former teammates and fans.
“Respect brother,” wrote Vladimír Coufal, while Tomáš Souček and the former Hammer Sébastien Haller, who overcame testicular cancer in 2023, reacted with warm emojis.
Singer Alexandra Burke, who is engaged to Antonio’s former West Ham team colleague Darren Randolph, commented: “You are so blessed. God is so good.”
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