Antonio says he came 'close to dying' in car crash that left the West Ham striker with shattered leg

LONDON (AP) — West Ham striker Michail Antonio is “100%” confident he will play again as he recovers from a car crash that left him with a “completely shattered” leg and a realization “how close I was to dying.”

Antonio crashed his Ferrari into a tree just outside London on a wet and windy day on Dec. 7.

In an interview with the BBC, the Jamaica international said he broke his femur bone in four places and required an operation where surgeons “put a pole in my thigh with four bolts.”

Antonio, who turns 35 this month, recently went to see the remains of his car at a scrapyard. He said: “It gave me a weird feeling in my stomach. It just made me realize how close I was to dying.”

He has been told his rehabilitation will take “between six-to-12 months” before his leg heals properly, and feels he is “already two-to-three months ahead of where I should be."

“Yes, 100%. I will play again,” he said.

“The most difficult part is that I almost wasn’t there for my children,” added Antonio, who has six kids. “It’s just made me happy, positive about life, because I’ve got another chance at life.”

Antonio has made more than 300 appearances for West Ham since joining from Nottingham Forest in 2015, and played in all 14 games this season before the incident.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

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