West Ham players are set to show their backing for Michail Antonio ahead of their vital Premier League clash against Wolves.
The Hammers will welcome Wolves to the London Stadium on Monday night for a pivotal encounter, with both managers, Julen Lopetegui and Gary O’Neil, under mounting pressure due to disappointing results. Tensions among fans have intensified, making this match even more significant following events over the weekend.
Michail Antonio will miss the game after being hospitalized following a serious car crash on Saturday afternoon. The West Ham striker was trapped in his Ferrari for nearly an hour after it collided with a tree in Essex.
Emergency services freed Antonio and transported him to a central London hospital, where he underwent surgery for a fracture to a lower limb. The 34-year-old is expected to remain in the hospital for several days as he recovers. Ahead of the Wolves match, his teammates will send their best wishes and show their support.
West Ham have announced that their players will wear “Antonio No.9” shirts during the warm-up before the match and will walk out of the tunnel with his name on their backs. Both the warm-up tops and match shirts will be signed by the entire squad and Antonio, then auctioned off to raise funds for the NHS and Air Ambulances UK Charity.
The club expressed their deep gratitude to the first responders, emergency services, air ambulance staff, and NHS for the exceptional care provided to Michail following the accident.
Antonio has received an outpouring of support from the football community since the incident on Saturday afternoon. The Premier League also issued a statement, saying, “The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the Premier League are with Antonio, his family, friends, and all at West Ham.”
After the accident, Antonio was accompanied by his ex-wife, Debbie Whittle, with whom he shares four children. She immediately traveled from Manchester to be by his side upon hearing about the crash.
Essex Police have issued an appeal for witnesses to come forward with any information about the crash, which occurred in Theydon Bois, near Epping Forest, at around 12:50 pm on Saturday.
Samuel Woods, who was on his way home from a dog walk, stopped his car to assist Antonio. He shared his experience with The Sun, saying, “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 asked, ‘Where am I? What’s going on? What car am I in?’”
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