Exclusive Raul Jimenez: Fulham forward feels back to 'best' after 'long journey' since skull fracture | Football News

“I'm happy to be back.”

Raul Jimenez believes he finally rediscovered himself after that his excruciating head injury in November 2020.

In a life-threatening moment, the man from Vukovo fainted game against Arsenal after a horrific clash of heads with Gunners defender David Luiz.

It took Jimenez nine months to come back from a fractured skull and play again – but in reality, it took the Fulham striker more than four years to truly recover.

Six goals in all competitions this season and a classy assist against Manchester City in October show he has regained his magic.

“It's been a long, long journey,” he exclusively says Sky Sports. “My freshman year was just recovery, doing drills I never thought I'd be doing, like just strengthening my neck with a helmet and stuff.

“Then I came back to the Premier League to face games again, it was really good and amazing.

“After all those things, maybe the doctors weren't so convinced that I would be able to play again. But I never crossed my mind to come back.

“I came back a year later, but I think I'm back to my best not too long ago, so I'm happy to be back.

“I still have a lot to give to Fulham and football.”

The turning point for the Mexican came just before the third anniversary of his head injury.

The goal in Fulham's 3-1 defeat by Aston Villa last November ended his 33-goal drought in the Premier League. Since that strike, Jimenez has scored 12 goals in all competitions for the Cottagers, including five in the league this season.

“I knew when the first one came, it was going to come,” he says. “Well, they came, but then after I unfortunately got injured, I stopped that momentum.

But things happen in football and then I ended up finishing the season with two goals at Luton.

“I started this season on the bench, and then when I started playing I started scoring goals.

“I know I have five goals, maybe eight or nine, but it's like this, sometimes you'll score, sometimes you'll miss. But I'll keep trying and I'll keep working on it.”

'Now I'm playing with freedom'

A carefree attitude is behind his resurgence, which was key to his “magnificent finish” in Fulham's draw with Arsenal earlier this month.

“I feel really good, I'm playing freely,” he reveals. “My first year at Fulham wasn't the best. Now this year was better.

“I try to do my best in every game, helping the team with goals, assists and creating space for other players to score.

“I love being here and playing with that freedom. It's not that I don't mind if I miss the ball or if I don't score, but it's something that, 'OK, if I miss, there's going to be a next one and I'm going to do it right next time,' so that I feel I can do better things when I'm free.”

Jimenez's renaissance has a lot to do with Fulham manager Marco Silva.

The Portuguese gambled on the former Benfica striker in July 2023 after signing him from Wolves for £5.5m.

At the time, Jimenez had not scored in the Premier League since March 2022, raising serious doubts about whether he was a suitable replacement for the talismanic Aleksandar Mitrovic following his big-money move to Saudi Arabia.

But despite a slow start, Jimenez is now reciprocating Silva's faith.

“We trusted him when nobody in the Premier League trusted him,” Silva said of Jimenez last month.

“We're the ones who believed in him at a difficult time in his career. We're really pleased with his momentum and the way we've helped him get back to his best.”

No wonder Jimenez speaks so highly of the 47-year-old.

“He (Silva) is really important,” he reveals. “He called me last summer (2023) and told me he wanted me here. He wanted me to be a striker here in the team.

“They were asking for one and he thought it was a really good idea because he knew I still had it.

“He told me the last game we played against you when I was at Wolves, I knew you had it so I'm thinking of you and I want you to come. So that confidence gives you more confidence.”

'I'm like an older brother to Muniz'

Healthy competition with fellow striker Rodrigo Muniz is also driving Jimenez's rejuvenation.

With eight more Premier League starts and four more goals in all competitions, the 33-year-old Jimenez is surviving a decade's age gap between them.

He says of his relationship with Muniz: “I think it's one of the best rivalries if you want to call it that, because we play for the same position.

“I've been in other places where maybe another striker doesn't want me to score to play, but here it's different. I think we're happy every time I score, he scores.

“The age difference is 10 years, but I try to help him as much as I can. I try to be like a big brother to him to show him good things.”

And their sibling-like love was on display in the parking lot afterward as the pair joked about Muniz's arrival. Fulham's training ground is just a feel-good place right now.

The west Londoners are eighth and four points off the top four. Silva's side are on a four-match unbeaten run, including draws against title challengers Liverpool and Arsenal.

Jimenez believes they are “aiming for big things” and describes this Premier League season as “crazy”, with just six points separating fourth-placed Nottingham Forest and 13th-placed Manchester United.

But where Fulham have struggled so far is against teams at the other end of the table. The last defeat was against the second-placed Wolves, while they drew against Ipswich and Everton.

Sunday's home game against Southampton without a manager, live Sky Sportsis considered a must win if Fulham are to be serious contenders for a place in Europe.

“It's going to be tough because they fired the manager (Russell Martin),” Jimenez said. “Sometimes it plays on them. And they are more focused on the game, so we have to be ready.

“They are at the very bottom, but that doesn't change anything. We have to think: we are at home, we have to win this game and continue to climb the table.

“All the last games we've done great things but it won't be good if you don't win this game at home against one of the bottom teams. So maybe those are the most important games when you think you're going to get a point but you have to play the game first to you would get them and be sure that you can fight for more things.”

For Jimenez, there is added incentive to benefit his former club relegation-threatened Wolves, where he scored 57 goals in 166 games over five seasons.

Asked if he's thinking of helping Old Gold beat Saints, he says: “Yes, of course. I'll always support Wolves because it's a club that's given me a lot of things.

“Of course, I don't want them to drop out, but even if we can help them with things like this.

“But if we face them again now in Wolverhampton, I certainly want to win, but in this case I want to help them.”

Jimenez eyes Premier League record

This weekend's game against Southampton could be a turning point for Jimenez.

If he scores twice, he will become Mexico's leading scorer in the Premier League, overtaking Javier Hernandez's 53 goals for Manchester United and West Ham.

“All social media is with it every time I score, so I'm aware of it,” he reveals. “It will be an honor for me. I hope to get that record for myself before the end of the year and I want to continue scoring to be bigger.”

So could Sunday be the day he breaks the record?

“Why not?” he says. “I want to aim for that. I want to be on target, but we never know.

“Let's take it easy – maybe I don't score or maybe I get a hat-trick! It can happen. But I'm really happy to be able to do it.”

He added: “Maybe if it (the head injury) hadn't happened at that moment, I might have broken the record years ago. But things happen for a reason and I have the opportunity to do it, and I'm really happy about it.

“I'm going to aim for this. I've got three more games this year and, well, hopefully I can get it done before then.”

Whether he reaches the milestone on Sunday or sometime next year, it will mark another remarkable chapter in Jimenez's remarkable comeback from a skull fracture.

Watch Fulham v Southampton live on Sky Sports Premier League on Sunday; beginning at 2 p.m.