Michail Antonio has been training with the Championship team this week as he aims to secure a short-term contract a year after sustaining serious injuries in a car crash.
Leicester manager Marti Sifuentes has admitted the club could sign Michael Antonio after the former West Ham striker trained with the team. One year after a horrific car accident, Antonio is looking for a way to get back in the game.
The 35-year-old was seriously injured when his Ferrari crashed into a tree in Epping Forest on his way back from training, breaking his leg. His contract with West Ham then expired in June, but he remained with the team to complete his rehabilitation.
Antonio played in Jamaica during the summer and then trained with Brentford in the Premier League. And he now appears to be closing in on a short-term deal with Championship club Leicester, who need cover for Patson Daka, who is set to join Zambia for next week’s African Cup of Nations.
“He looked good and was a good player to be around,” Leicester manager Sifuentes told BBC East Midlands Today. “We’re just watching him, but he’s happy to train with us.”
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Asked if there were any concerns about Antonio’s trauma over the past year, Cifuentes said: “I’m not worried at all. I know he previously trained with another club, so in that sense he seems to be doing well.”
“Match fitness is going to take some time to learn because he’s been out for so long. It’s not going to be easy and it doesn’t matter how much training you do or how hard you work, it’s a different level of the game.”
Antonio has been active in the media recently, appearing on TNT Sports as a commentator for Nottingham Forest’s Europa League match against Utrecht on Thursday night. However, he always made it clear that he wanted to return to the pitch, lest an accident end his career.
“I’m not done with football and I didn’t want a car accident to literally end my career,” he said earlier this year after spending three weeks in hospital recovering from a serious accident.
“The first thing I said to the doctor was, ‘Are you going to play again?’ And the doctor said, ‘Yes,’ that’s me, no problem, that’s all I needed to know. I knew there was more in me, and I knew there was more in me.”
The Jamaican international spent 10 years at West Ham and became the Premier League’s top scorer this year with 68 goals in 268 games. He has also previously played for Southampton, Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest.
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