The Premier League club issued a statement as reports started to come through, which read: "West Ham United can confirm striker Michail Antonio has today been involved in a road traffic accident.

"The thoughts and prayers of everyone at the Club are with Michail, his family and friends at this time."

The accident happened in the south east county of Essex, and unconfirmed images of the 34-year-old's car show a mangled wreck.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service confirmed it had attended the scene and released a man trapped in his car.

"Crews were called at 1.02pm [UK time] this afternoon after reports of a road traffic collision involving one car," a statement from the emergency service read.

"Firefighters reported that a man was trapped in his car and worked to release him by 1.45pm. The casualty was left in the care of the Ambulance Service."

Jamaica international Antonio, 34, joined West Ham from Nottingham Forest in 2015. He has scored 68 goals in 268 league appearances for the club.