The manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Nuno Espirito, has confirmed that the club’s striker, Raul Jimenez, has started training with protective headgear, over three months after he fractured his skull in a Premier League match.
Raul Jimenez sustained an injury many described as a career-ending injury, during a Premier League match between Wolves and Arsenal on November 29, 2020. He was the worst affected in a head collision involving him and Arsenal’s David Luiz.
After the medical team attended to him on the pitch for over 10 minutes, the 29-year-old Mexican striker was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Hours later, it was confirmed that he had to be operated upon which was successfully carried out.
It took the football star weeks to make any form of public appearance as he continued with his strive to return to the game of football which is gradually becoming a reality.
Ahead of Wolves’ league game against Liverpool scheduled to take place on March 15, at 21:00, the coach of Wolves, Nuno Espirito revealed that after the Mexican striker was given the green light to train, he was mandated to wear protective headgear to prevent contact with his skull during training.
The coach also revealed that it has not been confirmed whether Raul Jimenez would keep wearing the headgear when he returns to football fully. He said the Mexico international is making progress in his recovery process because the player never doubted that he would return to football.
“He’s doing quite well and he’s improving”, Nuno Espirito said. “We still have to wait but it’s not decided yet whether he’s going to wear it in the future. First, we have to put him back in the pitch in the best and safest way to do it.”
The Portuguese coach went on to describe the return of Raul Jimenez to training as a big lift, noting that the positive attitude of the striker towards his recovery process is an inspiration to the rest of the team.
“It’s a big lift because he’s a fantastic boy,” Nuno noted. “With the serious situation he’s faced and the doubts, it was clear that he never doubted, he was always positive, he’s always with a smile, he’s always engaged to do things.
“That, by itself, is a big, big lift when you see someone with something so serious and he’s so positive about it all. Raul is amazing.”
🗣 "He’s not decided yet whether it’s going to be for when he returns to competition, but it’s a better approach for him to be more involved inside of the training sessions."
— Wolves (@Wolves) March 12, 2021
Nuno on Raul's training ground head protection.
🇲🇽🐺 pic.twitter.com/NXiE3Mvdoq
Before Raul Jimenez went out injured, the 29-year-old Mexican football star has scored three Premier League goals in 10 games. Since he left the team due to his fractured skull, his team has been suffering a series of inconsistencies which has pushed them down to the 12th spot on the league table with 35 points in 27 games.
Jimenez is not expected to make the Wolves’ squad that will face Liverpool on Monday and it has not been confirmed when he will return to full action.
