Raúl Jiménez used his Fulham form to revitalize Mexico in Nations League

The striker is in the middle of his best club season since a traumatic injury, and his national team is benefitting

Watching him score dazzling free kicks, pull off handsprings and other acrobatics in his goal celebrations, and lift the trophy for best player in the Concacaf Nations League Finals, it is easy to forget Raul Jimenez ever suffered a serious injury of any type. Or that less than five years ago, there were questions about if he'd ever play the sport again, period.

Yet there Jimenez was, with two goals in Mexico's semifinal against Canada and another two in the final against Panama, joking about enjoying a few tequilas in celebration of El Tri's first-ever Nations League triumph. A sleek headband is the only visible reminder of his November 2020 collision with Arsenal's David Luiz - an incident that fractured his skull and caused a brain bleed, and which could have cost him his life without the proper and timely medical interventions he received.