Wolverhampton's Jimenez leaves game with head injury

LONDON (AP) — Wolverhampton forward Raul Jimenez was hospitalized with a serious head injury after colliding with Arsenal defender David Luiz on Sunday.

The injury came in the fifth minute of the Premier League game when Willian delivered a corner. Both Jimenez and Luiz challenged for it and were following the flight of the ball when they knocked heads with the clash heard around the empty Emirates Stadium.

Medical staff were quickly called onto the field. Luiz sat up after a couple of minutes and eventually was treated on the touchline to the left of Wolves’ goal.

But the 29-year-old Jimenez, who joined Wolves in 2018, stayed down and the Mexico international didn’t appear to move. He was eventually put on a stretcher. Luiz, whose head was bandaged, went over to see if Jimenez was OK before the Brazilian returned to the field and continued playing.

Jimenez was wheeled around the side of the field with an oxygen mask on, still not appearing to move, before he was taken down the tunnel.

Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo said that Jimenez is conscious and talking, and is undergoing a scan.

“I knew straight away that something was wrong,” he said. “Everyone called ‘red, red,’ which means it's a bad situation. You see the panic in their eyes, and you start thinking how is he."

The manager said that Jimenez is in good hands, but “we are worried, we are worried.”

After the match, Wolves captain Conor Coady also said everyone was hoping for a quick recovery for Jimenez.

“It was a tough thing,” Coady said, adding that asking about Jimenez was the first thing the players did at halftime. “He’s with the right people. We’re just praying.”

Underscoring the seriousness of the incident, Coady said he was very close to the collision and that he knew immediately that it was bad.

“He was on his side,” he said, referring to the significance of keeping his airway open. “I think it was important he was kept on his side."

Earlier, the club released a statement on its Spanish language Twitter feed.

“We want to thank everyone for their messages of support for the injury to @Raul_Jimenez9,” Wolves said. “Our medical team is closely monitoring the situation. As soon as we have official information, we will release it through our official channels.”

Coady had tried to lift his teammates’ spirits and yelled out, “Come on boys, focus,” before play resumed with Luiz staying on the field for the entire first half, including 10 minutes of injury time.

But Luiz was substituted after the interval, with Rob Holding coming on for him.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said Luiz never lost consciousness and that he took the player off at halftime because of his nasty cut.

Wolves won the match 2-1 and moved up to sixth place.

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