Incredible luck
Man finds seriously injured Premier League star in forest
12/10/2024 – 2:01 a.mReading time: 3 minutes
A serious accident involving colleague Michail Antonio shocks West Ham United. The coach speaks of a miracle. Now the man who found the professional speaks out.
The images of the wreckage of the car in which Michail Antonio was sitting shocked his work colleagues. Antonio’s coach even spoke of a miracle. “We are happy that he has come through the operation he had yesterday,” West Ham United’s Spanish coach said on Monday evening
On Saturday his player had an accident on a country road in a forest in the English county of Essex. A man who was walking his dog in the area happened to spot the 34-year-old Premier League professional on his way home. He stopped and went into the undergrowth of Epping Forest where Antonio’s completely destroyed sports car was parked.
The man named Samuel Woods is not interested in football, as the tabloid “The Sun” writes and did not recognize the footballer. He spoke to the seriously injured person, who was conscious but apparently in shock. “Where am I? What happened? What kind of car I’m sitting in?” the West Ham United striker asked Woods.
The first responder reported that there was a smell of gasoline in the wreckage, and smoke was also rising from the wreckage of the car.
It was Antonio’s car, a Ferrari FF that cost around 300,000 euros. However, the car could hardly be seen anymore; the impact had almost completely torn away half of the car and was probably so violent that Antonio was thrown from the driver’s seat into the passenger seat. It took the fire department an hour to cut the trapped footballer out of the wreckage using special tools.
He was then taken to a hospital in central London, where doctors immediately operated on him. Antonio is said to have suffered a compound fracture of his leg and will be out for at least a year. It remains to be seen whether the 34-year-old will be able to return to professional sport at all. Nothing is yet known about the cause of the accident.
The Ferrari FF that Antonio drove was considered the fastest four-seater in the world when it was launched in 2011. It accelerates from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in just 3.7 seconds. It’s not the first crash the Premier League star has had. In 2019, he crashed a Lamborghini into a wall on an icy road on Christmas Day.
West Ham United’s teammates remembered their teammate with a special gesture before and after the 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday evening. All players in German national striker Niclas Füllkrug’s team wore jerseys with the number 9 and the name Antonio on the back during the warm-up.
Captain Jarrod Bowen emphasized: “He’s not just a teammate. He’s a friend and has been for many years. It’s one of those things that’s bigger than football. He’s a warrior and a fighter and always has been.” After the game, Bowen spoke of a big win for Antonio. “He wasn’t with us, but I’m sure he was watching,” the captain said.
Tomas Soucek dedicated his goal to make it 1-0 to his colleague. The Czech reported that Antonio wished the team well and even joked during a video call before the game. The warm-up jerseys worn will be auctioned off and the proceeds will go to the National Health Service and air rescue.