On November 29, 2020, Raúl Jiménez was carried off a Premier League pitch unconscious, requiring emergency oxygen after his skull collided with Arsenal defender David Luiz’s head. He had a fractured skull and a brain bleed. Medical staff later called his survival a “miracle.”
In June 2026, the same man put a ball in the back of the net at the World Cup. His first ever goal on football’s biggest stage. Five and a half years separated those two moments.
The collision that changed everything
The injury happened during a Wolves vs. Arsenal match in the Premier League. Jiménez went up for a header and collided with David Luiz, a moment that looked routine from the stands but was anything but. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
Emergency surgery followed. Jiménez shocked observers by returning to training within weeks of the surgery. He now wore protective headgear every time he stepped onto a pitch.
