Raul Jimenez has been one of Mexico’s key players during the team’s World Cup run. Fans may notice that Jimenez wears a unique headband as a result of a prior serious head injury.
Jimenez also has a noticeable scar on the side of his head as well, a reminder of the frightening injury.
Why does Jimenez wear the headband and what happened to the star’s head? During a November 29, 2020, match, Jimenez crashed into an opposing player while the star was playing for Wolverhampton.
Not only was there concern about Jimenez’s playing career, there was also a fear that Jimenez’s injuries could be fatal. Jimenez sustained a skull fracture during the scary incident.
“Almost six years before stepping onto the familiar Estadio Azteca pitch, the Mexico international was involved in a shocking blow to his head that led to not only questions about the future of his career, but also his own life,” ESPN’s Cesar Hernandez wrote in a June 29, 2026, story titled, “Jiménez is lucky to be alive, never mind living his World Cup dream.”
“During a Premier League match for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Arsenal in November 2020, his teammates and coaching staff remember literally hearing when the striker clashed heads with opposing defender David Luiz, knocking Jiménez unconscious and lifeless on the pitch.”
Here’s what you need to know about Jimenez’s injury.
Mexico’s Raul Jimenez Sustained a 2020 Head Injury That Was Initially Feared to be Fatal
The initial goal was to get Jimenez healthy again. Yet, Jimenez made a miraculous recovery that not only returned the star to health but allowed him to play soccer again much sooner than expected.
“Soccer, clearly, took a back seat,” Hernandez added. “When it’s hard to eat because of the subtle movements a jaw makes, or even just walk after 10 days in the hospital, you don’t think about scoring goals.
“Those thoughts had to be sidelined for more than six months, when he miraculously returned to play by summer 2021, this time with a cushioned headband that he would need to wear for the rest of his career.”
Raul Jimenez Will Wear a Protective Headband for the Rest of His Career as a Result of the Injury
Jimenez’s injury required emergency surgery to repair. Amid Jimenez’s recovery, doctors informed the star that he would need to wear a protective headband for the rest of his soccer career.
During a 2021 interview with The Guardian’s Paul Doyle, Jimenez spoke in detail about the injuries which included a skull fracture and brain bleeding. Jimenez admitted that he has very little memory of the incident.
“[There was] the skull fracture, the bone broke and there was a little bit of bleeding inside the brain,” Jimenez explained at the time. “It was pushing my brain to the inside and that is why the surgery had to be quick. It was a really good job by the doctors.
“Since the first moment [the doctors] told me the risks. Because they are doctors they have to tell you the truth and you have to take it. The skull fracture did take a little longer than we all expected to heal but it is a miracle to be here.”
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