Steve McClaren confirms ‘unfortunate’ Michail Antonio update after West Ham exit
Michail Antonio is still without a club after being released by West Ham in the summer.
The striker has had a terrible year, with Antonio being ruled out of action for months due to a car crash while at West Ham.
In the summer, his time at the Hammers came to a permanent end when Antonio was released at the end of his West Ham contract.
While Antonio is searching for a new club, nothing is confirmed yet, with Steve McClaren now providing an update on the situation.
Steve McClaren: Michail Antonio has a calf issue
With Antonio now being a Jamaican international, the striker will be hoping to play at the World Cup next summer.
Currently, the Caribbean nation is on course to achieve this, winning its first two games in Group B.
However, if Antonio wants to be at peak fitness for the qualifiers and the potential tournament in the summer, he will need a new club.
- Antonio was at West Ham between 2015-25
- Here, he made 323 appearances for the Hammers, netting 83 times
- Antonio was also part of the squad that won the Europa Conference League in 2023
Reports emerged this week that Antonio was training with Brentford, but the Bees are not expected to offer the striker a contract to play for the London club.
Now, the attacker has suffered another setback on his road to fitness.
“Michail Antonio has been training with Brentford, doing very well,” McClaren said to the Daily Mail on 9 October.
“Unfortunately, he has pulled a calf and will be two to three weeks out.”
“He is still training with Brentford, so hopefully something will work out with that.”
How has Antonio performed for Jamaica?
When Antonio has played for Jamaica, he has been solid.
To date, he has accumulated 24 caps and has found the net five times. This includes scoring Jamaica’s first-ever Copa America goal in the 3-1 defeat to Ecuador in 2024.
After his car crash, Antonio returned to the pitch for the first time while playing for his country in the 2025 Gold Cup.
Here, the attacker was unable to get Jamaica out of the group stages.
However, he could make up for this disaster in the World Cup qualifiers in the coming months.
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