By WILL PICKWORTH
Published: 03:30 EST, 14 December 2024 | Updated: 03:30 EST, 14 December 2024
West Ham boss Julen Lopetegui believes Michail Antonio will recover from his horror crash to play football again.
Antonio, 34, suffered 'a lower limb fracture'after a crash in the Essex area involving his silver Ferrari last Saturday, with the forward rushed to hospital.
The east London club later provided an update on the player's condition, informing the public that he was 'conscious and communicating and is currently under close supervision' as images surfaced of a silver Ferrari with considerable damage to the front right wing.
Local police have appealed for dash cam footage and witnesses as officers investigate the serious collision in Epping on Coppice Row which took place shortly after 12.50pm.
Following the crash, it emerged that the player - who has since undergone surgery - was trapped for more than 45 minutes as fire crews attempted to free him from his car, with some reports claiming that Antonio's career was in jeopardy.
However, Lopetegui expressed his confidence that the Hammers' all-time record Premier League goalscorer will return to the pitch in the future.
He said: 'The most important thing is that he's alive, he's good. He broke his femur, but he's going to recover for sure.
'He's going to need time. It's about time. Now it's about time but the good news is that he has time because when you see the car was terrible, the accident, that's why we are happy.
'Because in the end, despite the fact we are unhappy because we lost one very important player for us, we are happy because he's going to be ready.
'Now he's strong, he's recovered himself in the next month for sure and he's going to be ready to be a player.
'The first thing is to be a man and then to be a player.'