Former West Ham star Michail Antonio is training with Brentford.
Antonio is on the lookout for a new club having been released by West Ham in the summer.
However, it has been reported the west London club are not expected to offer him a contract.
The 35-year-old was released by West Ham as he battled back from a severe injury sustained in a horror car crash last December.
Although Antonio’s contract expired in June, he played for West Ham’s under-21 side in August as the east London club continued their support in his rehabilitation.
But Antonio is now training at Jersey Road in west London, not West Ham’s Rush Green.
The former Nottingham Forest player made his return to football on June 17, coming in the 85th minute for Jamaica against Guatemala.
Antonio’s trial at Brentford
Antonio’s journey to making it as a professional footballer saw him endure plenty of setbacks.
When playing for non-league Tooting and Mitcham, he had a number of trials with London-based professional clubs, including Brentford, who opted not to sign him despite making a good impression during his trial.
“I went to AFC Wimbledon. They didn’t want to pay for my registration fee. £7,” Antonio told the BBC.
“I went to QPR on a six-week trial. I passed every fitness test, I did everything I needed to do. Then I’ve gone into this reserve game, where [I was told] ‘This is important, if you do well here, then you’ll sign.’ I scored one and set one up. They’ve come back to me and gone, ‘You ain’t done enough crosses.’
“I went to Brentford after QPR. Played two games, and scored in one, set one up in the other. They said, ‘he’s a good player, but there’s other things he needs to work on, we’ll keep an eye on him.’
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“Within three months of that I signed for Reading. I went back to Mitcham, signed my contract, played games, and then Reading came.”
Antonio’s road to recovery
The football world was rocked when Antonio’s Ferrari veered off road and crashed into a tree in Essex on December 7.
The force of the crash, which took place near West Ham owner David Sullivan’s home, saw Antonio shifted into the passenger seat before being trapped inside the car for over 45 minutes as emergency services battled to free him.
Antonio underwent surgery and West Ham later assured worried fans that the player was in a stable condition after distressing pictures of the vehicle surfaced online.
It was expected that Antonio would be out of action for a year, however, he’s made excellent progress in his recovery.
He made his first public appearance three months on from the crash as he was unveiled to the London Stadium to fans before West Ham’s Premier League match against Newcastle.
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Speaking about the crash that nearly killed him, Antonio said later in March: “I wouldn’t have processed it at all, or what I would have done would be to push it down and been angry or aggressive.
“Since the crash, I’ve been more emotional than I have ever been in my life, but I feel like it’s better.
“Therapy is one of the best things that’s happened to me in my life.”
Asked about making a comeback, he added: “Yes, 100 per cent. I will play again.”
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And he was back playing football just over three months after that; Antonio coming on during the closing stages of Jamaica’s Gold Cup defeat to Guatemala on June 17.
He went on to make a further two appearances at the tournament.
Antonio’s contract at West Ham expired at the end of June and it was announced in August that the player would not be signing a new deal.
However, the club said negotiations over a future role at the club either as a coach or a mentoring role within the academy.
For now it seems Antonio is determined to have another crack at playing professional football.