Michail Antonio scored in both of Jamaica's World Cup qualifiers during the international break; forward was due to return to the UK on Thursday but flew back one day early after David Sullivan spent £100,000 to charter a private jet; West Ham play Wolves on Saturday afternoon
Thursday 18 November 2021 08:27, UK
Michail Antonio will return to training with his West Ham team-mates on Thursday after David Sullivan, the club's co-owner, spent £100,000 to charter a private jet to fly the forward back from Jamaica
Antonio was due to return to the UK on Thursday ahead of training on Friday after representing Jamaica in their World Cup qualifiers against El Salvador and the USA.
But West Ham want Antonio to be in the best possible shape for their Premier League game at Wolves on Saturday afternoon, when a draw or a win would see them rise to second in the table.
The 31-year-old - who was back in London on Wednesday evening - has been key to the Hammers' impressive form this season, scoring seven goals in 13 games in all competitions.
Antonio was understood to be desperate to return to West Ham as quickly as possible in a bid to feature against Wolves at the weekend, and took to social media to thank Sullivan.
Antonio scored in both of Jamaica's games - which each finished 1-1 - during the international break.
He declared his intention to play for Jamaica earlier this year and has two goals in three games for the side.
Antonio was also eligible to play for England, his country of birth.
West Ham have reluctantly accepted a ban on their supporters for next week's Europa League match at Rapid Vienna after receiving written reasons for the sanction from UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.
The Premier League side were issued with the ban for the match in Austria on November 25 after crowd trouble at their Group H clash against Belgian team Genk earlier this month.
West Ham initially said they were "surprised" by the sanction but accepted the decision on Wednesday after receiving evidence from European football's governing body.
"Despite the club's robust processes around our own security and operations in support of our ticketed fans who travelled to Genk, evidence has been presented to confirm that a small number of ticketless individuals caused disturbances and illegally gained entrance to Genk's stadium," the club said in a statement.
"West Ham condemn the behaviour of this group of individuals and we are working to identify them following their actions, which have now ultimately led to our supporters being punished and resulting in David Moyes' team being forced to play in Austria without the backing of the club's fans."
West Ham said that supporters who had purchased tickets to the game would be refunded. However, many may not be able to get back the money they had spent on travel plans to Vienna.
Moyes' team are top of Group H with 10 points from four matches, having not lost a game so far in their first European campaign in five years.
