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West Ham center forward Michail Antonio has claimed that he once prayed for himself to suffer an injury. The striker confessed as much during a recent appearance on the podcast. While discussing a plethora of topics for about an hour, Antonio centered the conversation around mental health.
The Hammers star revealed in the talk that a marriage divorce essentially led to fairly serious mental concerns. The off-field issue then seeped into his work as a successful professional athlete. Antonio joined the east London club for around $10 million back in 2015.
Looking back, the fee now seems like a fantastic bit of business for the team. After all, the striker has been a mainstay in the squad over the last nine seasons. Antonio currently holds the club’s record for most goals in the modern Premier League era with 67.
Antonio prayed for an injury before suffering knee setback
The West Ham star initially told the podcast hosts that the aforementioned divorce triggered an unhappiness with soccer. He even shared that the personal issue hindered his ability to properly celebrate his team’s triumph in the UEFA Conference League final after the 2022/23 season.
This displeasure in the sport, however, continued long after helping his teammates lift the trophy. The unhappiness with his job affected the striker during the current campaign. Antonio even went as far as praying that he would get injured to receive ample time away from the pitch.
“I didn’t score from December (2023) until I think it was March, April time, (2024)” stated Antonio. “And I just felt run-down. And then I went away with Jamaica because I was enjoying football with Jamaica for some strange reason. But I actually prayed for an injury. I was like, ‘I just want to get injured, I want some time off.’ And then I went away with Jamaica, and I did my medial (knee ligament).”
“I was thinking to myself, ‘I’m 33, I can’t afford to be performing this way,…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/news/michail-antonio-mental-health-issues/
Author : Chris Moore
Publish date : 2024-05-16 17:11:09
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