Mexico have apologised to Wolves, after they named Raul Jimenez on their substitutes bench last night for a friendly match against Iraq – while Wolves played against Leeds United in the Carabao Cup.
Jimenez joined up with the national team earlier this week in Girona to continue his recovery from a chronic groin injury.
Some fans have been growing frustrated by this situation in recent weeks.
Many have been unable to understand why Jimenez has been allowed to spend so much time with Mexico.
Last month, he spent a few weeks over in Mexico working on his fitness.
He returned to Compton Park, but earlier this week was permitted to go to Spain.
The £30 million star has been pictured training, and manager Tata Martino last night named him among the substitutes for their game against Iraq.
Davis commented on the situation after Wolves beat Leeds 1-0 in the Carabao Cup third round. And he admitted the club is not happy.
He said (Express & Star): “I only found out after the game. I saw the picture of him on the bench in his clothing – they’ve named him on the bench but he’s not changed to play.
“That’s as much as I understand. We’re not happy with that, because of how it looks and how it’s viewed from the outside. I get that.
“But we know he’s not ready to play. They’ve apologised for including him. We know full well he’s not ready to come on or play in the games.
“They said it was for mental health reasons that they put him in there.”
Supposedly, Jimenez is flying back to Wolves this weekend to continue his recovery.
Raul Jimenez situation is sad, as Mexico apologise to Wolves for benching striker against Iraq
This situation continues to be a bad look.
The secrecy surrounding the situation has turned a lot of fans against Jimenez over the past few weeks. It perhaps need not have panned out like this had there just been a bit more transparency from all sides.
And now, this latest development has really upset a lot more supporters. They are within their rights to ask questions because of how unusual it is.
It is just sad that Jimenez is getting heavily criticised by some now. He has been such a good player for Wolves.
There is still a lot we don’t know. And we can only take Davis’ word that Mexico did indeed apologise. They shouldn’t have named him on their bench, knowing how it would look to Wolves fans. And especially knowing Wolves actually had a game at the same time.