Wolves and Mexico striker Raúl Jiménez may not return to playing before the World Cup, following an ongoing groin problem.
That is according to injury expert Ben Dinnery, who was speaking on Monday’s FPL Injuries update following the weekend’s Premier League fixtures.
Jiménez has been unavailable for selection for Wolves since he withdrew from the matchday squad ahead of the side’s 1-0 victory over Southampton at the beginning of September.
Last week, the club updated supporters on the 31-year-old’s fitness, stating that the player had been suffering from groin problems for “the last few years”, with the club also saying that they want to look after the player’s health before making predictions on when he might return to the team.
And Dinnery has questioned whether the former Benfica striker will be fit to represent Mexico in the World Cup in November.
He said: “Raúl Jiménez, we know this is an ongoing groin issue.
“Reports from his homeland are even calling into question his availability for the World Cup in Qatar.
“What Bruno Lage said before his sacking on Sunday [was] that Jiménez is working with the club’s medical department and a specialist to try and remedy the root cause of these problems.
“Now, there are no guarantees with this. Like I say, it’s been going on for two, possibly even three years, and everything seems to come to a head. Looks like it’s a sports hernia.
“There are no timelines. And I think you’ve got to be questioning if he’s going to be available for Mexico at this point in time.”
TIF Thoughts on Dinnery’s comments…
We believe Wolves fans are likely to be extremely worried by the updates coming out of the club and Dinnery’s concerns, with the side having no permanent manager in place and a lack of available strikers, with only Diego Costa available at the moment.
The West Midlands side have already suffered from a severe lack of firepower up front, having only scored three goals so far this season (the lowest in the Premier League), suggesting that the side need to find that cutting edge in attack, but a long-term absence to their main centre-forward will do nothing to help their cause.
Therefore, we think that this is an extremely concerning development and one that Wolves fans will be keeping an eye on in the hope that Jimenez’s injury isn’t as bad as initially feared.