It is still unclear exactly how badly injured Michail Antonio is. West Ham has only announced that the 34-year-old attacking star has undergone an operation for a fracture on his lower body after crashing violently with his car on Saturday.
Some reports suggest that Antonio will be out for at least a year, while others claim that he has played his last football match.
It is clear that what has happened has at least for the moment made the sports aspect secondary.
Called "El Sackico"
Before Monday's Premier League match at home against Wolverhampton, West Ham players warmed up in jerseys with the number nine and "Antonio" printed on the back.
They also wore specially designed over-shirts before kick-off, which, like all match jerseys, would be auctioned off after the match to raise money for the British healthcare system.
West Ham also managed to take three points for their injured teammate. The match against Wolverhampton had been billed as a crisis meeting, and the British tabloids called it "El Sackico" – a rewording of the nickname for the Spanish super-match "El Clásico" between Real Madrid and Barcelona – as both teams' coaches were deemed to be close to "getting sacked".
After a first half where the teams mostly took turns showing clumsiness in front of goal, Tomas Soucek made sure to break the deadlock shortly after the break.
The Czech midfielder elegantly lobbed in 1–0 to West Ham on a corner in the 54th minute and immediately sent a greeting to his friend in the hospital. Soucek held up nine fingers – Antonio's jersey number – and then ran forward and shouted his teammate's name directly into the TV camera.
Lifted Antonio's jersey to the sky
Matt Doherty equalized for Wolverhampton in the 70th minute, but this was a match that the home team refused to lose.
Two minutes later, Mohammed Kudus found his way to captain Jarred Bowen, who slammed in 2–1 to West Ham. Bowen first celebrated with his teammates before fetching an Antonio jersey behind the goal and lifting it to the sky.
West Ham's coach Julen Lopetegui can perhaps breathe a sigh of relief for a while. Worse for Wolverhampton's counterpart Gary O'Neil.
The third consecutive loss means that "Wolves" are still next to last. The demands for his resignation will not decrease.
