West Ham star Michail Antonio feels 'like the old me again'! Midfielder back after injury stalled promising career

Three and easy: Michail Antonio celebrates West Ham’s third goal last night
West Ham United via Getty Images
Ken Dyer5 December 2018

Michail Antonio has revealed how he feels like a new player after two years of injury problems threatened to stall his promising West Ham career.

The former Nottingham Forest winger was left out of the squad for the Hammers’ 3-0 win at Newcastle on Saturday, but replaced Pablo Zabaleta at right-back against Cardiff at the London Stadium last night and was rewarded with his first goal since last March.

For Antonio, the goal was particularly welcome, especially after long months of rehabilitation following a succession of injuries.

“When I came to West Ham, it took me three months to really break into the team and show what I could do, but then I tore my hamstring and that put me out for a long time,” he said.

“You could say I came back after that, but did I really? I would play one week and then suffer an injury and it went on like that. I would say that initial hamstring problem has put me out, effectively, until now.

“It was not until the game against Manchester City 10 days ago that I really felt sharp, fresh, the ‘old me’ from two years ago. Up until then, I had been trying to do the things I used to before that hamstring injury, but just couldn’t.

“My head was saying one thing, but my body another. In the City game, for the first time, that changed and I felt like things were in harmony again. That gave me the confidence to come in and play right-back against Cardiff. I hadn’t played there since my first season at the club, when I stepped in after Sam Byram and James Tomkins were injured.”

Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini was forced into some changes last night.

Arthur Masuaku came in for hamstring victim Aaron Cresswell at left-back, while Angelo Ogbonna played instead of Fabian Balbuena, who was still feeling the effects of a knock from the weekend but was fit enough to be named as a substitute.

It may have been high risk to change the majority of your defence, but Pellegrini’s gamble paid off — in the end.

It was back in January 2017 when West Ham, a model of inconsistency, last put together back-to-back Premier League wins.

And that unenviable run looked unlikely to end at the end of 45 minutes last night, particularly after conceding a first-half penalty and then losing striker Marko Arnautovic with a hamstring injury.

In Pictures | West Ham vs Cardiff | 04/12/18

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Goalkeeper Lucasz Fabianski’s save from a poor Joe Ralls spot-kick had kept West Ham in the game at half-time, though, while Arnautovic’s replacement, £4million summer signing Lucas Perez, eased the home fans’ anxiety with two second-half goals in the space of six minutes.

West Ham’s third, on the hour, came courtesy of Antonio’s header from a Robert Snodgrass corner to ensure consecutive wins, following the weekend’s victory at St James’ Park.

Josh Murphy scored a disputed 95th-minute consolation for the visitors, but Pellegrini will be more than satisfied with his team’s general improvement.

“These days, it’s a squad game and there are a lot of matches to be played this month,” added Antonio.

“We’re going to need the squad to keep improving and move further up the League because, with the amount of games, there will be injuries.

“Against Cardiff, Lucas Perez has come off the bench and helped win us the game. His first goal was the key, because Cardiff couldn’t sit back anymore. They had to come out and try to score — and that meant more space.

Fabianski denies Ralls from the spot 
Getty Images

“The gaffer said they are a hard team to break down, but we managed to score three goals against them. That’s six in the last two games and, hopefully, we can keep it going. The first year I was here, we put a run together and managed to get into Europe. Hopefully, we can keep pushing and let’s see how far we can go.

“Marko’s injury was the only downside, but injuries — as I know — are a part and parcel of football.”

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