Raul Jimenez should not have been back at the World Cup, let alone leading Mexico’s attack in a home tournament. He was 29 when a collision at Arsenal left him with a life-threatening skull fracture, and for a time even survival was in doubt.
Almost six years later, his return to elite football stands out as one of the sport’s most remarkable comebacks. Jimenez not only played again, but found the level that made him a regular scorer for club and country.
The night that changed everything
Jimenez does not remember going back for the corner that altered his life. Wolves were defending at the Emirates Stadium when his head clashed with David Luiz’s at full force, in a sound so sickening that it was compared to the ball hitting the frame of a goal.
Conor Coady later said he immediately moved Jimenez onto his side while medical staff arrived. In the documentary Code Red, Nuno Espirito Santo described the moment as one that would “stay forever.”
Jimenez was rushed to St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London, where surgeons operated to relieve pressure on his brain. He later said the fracture had broken the bone and caused bleeding inside the brain, making the surgery urgent.
For teammates, friends and family, the hours after the injury were filled with uncertainty. A message in the Wolves WhatsApp group 24 hours after the operation, confirming that he was okay and being looked after, came as a huge relief.
The slow return to football
Jimenez visited the squad two weeks after surgery, wearing a large hat to cover the scar that would remain. Soon after, he was doing keepy-uppies, walking his dog and playing catch, although he was still unsteady and needed plenty of rest.
The next step was training alone, then in small-sided work without contact. He was not allowed in the penalty area at first, and joked later that it felt like being the best player in the world because he could dribble past anyone without being challenged.
He also leaned on support from the wider game, including regular contact with Petr Cech, who had gone through a similar ordeal and wore protective headgear afterwards. Jimenez gradually progressed from heading foam balls to plastic ones, then proper footballs, before returning to full training about six months after the injury.
Back among the goals
His first Wolves goal after the comeback came in his sixth appearance, a winner at Southampton that felt especially emotional. A few weeks later, he scored for Mexico again against El Salvador after almost a year without an international goal.
The road after that was not simple. Jimenez seemed to lose confidence in the air, and his headband may have affected the power and direction of his headers. At one point, after missing a header against Brentford, he tore the headband off and kept playing without it.
Form dipped, he was dropped, and the 2022-23 Premier League season ended without a league goal in 15 appearances. Wolves then moved on from him that summer, but his career did not stop there.
Fulham revived him, Mexico kept relying on him
At Fulham under Marco Silva, Jimenez rebuilt his game around technical quality and work rate rather than pure physical intensity. The change brought the goals back, and 2024-25 became one of his strongest seasons in years.
He scored 18 times for club and country, helped Mexico win the Concacaf Gold Cup with three goals, and was named in the tournament team. A year earlier, he had been the top scorer in the Concacaf Nations League with five goals, including both in the final against Panama.
His record from the penalty spot also became a major part of his story. At Fulham, nine of his 31 goals came from penalties, and he extended his perfect Premier League record to 14 scored from 14 attempts.
A full-circle return to Wolves
Jimenez’s career has now come full circle with a return to Wolves on a two-year contract, a move that suggests both emotional attachment and continued value at a high level. He is set to play in the Championship, but still looks capable of competing above it.
For Mexico, he remains central too. He is third on the country’s all-time scoring list with 43 goals, and he continues to be preferred in many matches ahead of Milan striker Santiago Gimenez.
That is why his presence at a home World Cup feels like more than a sporting selection. It represents the end point of an extraordinary recovery, from a night that nearly killed him to a career that still has unfinished business.
Jimenez himself has said the experience changed how he sees the game and life, pushing him to enjoy the moment more and live it at 100 per cent. For Mexico, Wolves and everyone who watched him fight back, that return remains impossible not to admire.
