Nottingham Forest star reveals he ‘nearly died’ as he breaks silence on horror car crash
Nottingham Forest star reveals he ‘nearly died’ as he breaks silence on horror car crash
Former Nottingham Forest star Michail Antonio has admitted he feared he wouldn’t see his children grow up after his horror car crash last year that left him with a broken leg.
West Ham’s Antonio was lucky to survive after crashing his Ferrari into a tree in December, with shocking photos of the car showing the front of the vehicle totally crumpled with the window smashed.
The 34-year-old spent more than three weeks in hospital recovering and is facing a lengthy absence from football and a long road to recovery, having shattered his femur in four different places.
Antonio has now spoken out about the shocking incident and admitted he came close to dying after seeing the horrific state of his car – while realising he was nearly taken away from his four children.
“The most difficult part is that I almost wasn’t there for my children,” Antonio told the BBC. “It’s just made me happy, positive about life, because I’ve got another chance at life.
“During this, we kept it away from the kids. My eldest saw it, and he struggled with it. He’s 13, and obviously people were showing photos of the car. So he came down and saw me in the hospital.
“But the younger ones, they never really knew how bad the situation was. We kind of avoided letting them get on the internet.”
On revisiting his car at the scrapyard, he added: “It gave me a weird feeling in my stomach. 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 four children with ex-wife Debbie Whittle. He has featured Junior, Miles and Myla on his social media prominently while a fourth child arrived in 2020.
The striker said he didn’t have a fear of driving but was concerned that there was now a stigma around him and being in a car. “I don’t remember the trauma so I have no nerves,” he added.
“The only problem I have with it right now is every time I get behind the wheel, I worry that even if something small happens, it will be like ‘ah, Michail’s been in a crash again’, and that kind of negativity gets in my mind and gives me a bit of nerves.”
Antonio – who has played 323 times for West Ham after spending the last decade with the Hammers – said he was having therapy to help him cope with the aftermath of the crash.
He also vowed to return to football as he revealed he “didn’t sleep a wink” after his physios asked him if he had insurance if his career ended due to injury.
“Yes, 100%. I will play again,” he said. “It’s the biggest injury I’ve ever had in my career. But the fact that I’m already two to three months ahead of where I should be, I know that I’ll play again, and I know that once I’m playing the game I’ll get the sharpness back.
“People have always doubted me. My mental strength is something that I’ve always believed in and this is just another setback, and it is not going to stop me.”
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