Antonio has surgery on lower limb fracture after crash

West Ham striker Michail Antonio has undergone surgery on a lower limb fracture following his car crash on Saturday, the club has announced.

He will be “monitored in hospital over the coming days”, the Hammers said in a statement and extended a “heartfelt thank you” to the emergency services and first responders who tended to him.

The 34-year-old Jamaica international had to be released from his car after being involved in an accident in Epping and was taken to a central London hospital.

West Ham said on Saturday evening that he was in a stable condition and was “conscious and communicating”.

Antonio is the club’s all-time leading scorer in the Premier League, with 68 goals in 268 league appearances.

“Everyone at the club wishes Michail a speedy recovery and wishes to express sincere gratitude to the football family at large for the overwhelming support shown since yesterday’s news,” the West Ham statement continued.

“The club will provide further updates when appropriate.”

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said it had attended the scene of the accident on Saturday after receiving calls at 13:02 GMT and had released a man trapped in his car by 13:45.

The extent of Antonio’s injuries were not revealed at that time.

Essex Police later said officers were investigating a serious crash involving a Ferrari and asked for witnesses to come forward, as well as those with dashcam footage of the incident.

Messages of support for Antonio have flooded in with the Premier League and leading clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City all responding to a Hammers’ statement on X.

Former clubs Southampton, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Colchester also wished Antonio a speedy recovery on social media, as did BBC presenter Gary Lineker on Saturday’s edition of Match of the Day.

Jamaica manager Steve McClaren also sent a message on behalf of Antonio’s international team-mates: “On behalf of the entire group of players, support staff and technical staff, I would like to wish Michail a speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with him at this time.”

Antonio has appeared in all 14 of West Ham’s matches in the Premier League this season, scoring his only goal in their 4-1 win over Ipswich on 5 October.

It is unclear how long his recovery will take as the Hammers prepare to host Wolves on Monday (20:00 GMT).