Raúl Jiménez expected to play in friendly against Sweden
The 31-year-old striker is expected to see minutes on Wednesday in Mexico’s last friendly game prior to traveling to Qatar for the World Cup.
Raúl Jiménez is in a race against time to be fit for Mexico’s World Cup debut on 22 November against Poland. The 31-year-old striker was included in the 26-player squad that will be participating in the tournament as he continues his recovery from a groin injury suffered in late-August.
Jiménez has not played a competitive match for club or country since going the full 90 minutes in Wolverhampton’s 0-0 draw against Bournemouth on 31 August 31 in Week 5 of the Premier League. The former Club América striker was given an injection in London over the weekend as the final treatment for his groin injury and he returned on Sunday night to Mexico’s training camp that is being held in Spain.
Last chance for Jiménez
Mexico will play one last friendly before traveling to Qatar and their final pre-World Cup opponent will be Sweden. El Tri will play the European side on 16 November at Estadi Montilivi in Girona, Spain and Raúl Jiménez is expected to play a few minutes - his first since August.
This will be the final test for the 31-year-old striker to see how fit he is to play in the upcoming World Cup, because according to Wolverhampton’s head coach, Julen Lopetegui, Jiménez is far from his peak form. In case Raúl Jiménez relapses from his groin injury on Wednesday, Martino will call up Santiago Giménez to lead Mexico’s attack during the World Cup.