Nuno sounds warning on return of Wolves star Raul Jimenez

Jimenez has been sidelined since fracturing his skull against Arsenal in late November but, as Nuno was holding a press conference ahead of today’s trip to Everton, the striker was meeting with a specialist and a club doctor.

However, even if Jimenez is given clearance, Nuno insisted the situation is more complex as he gave an insight into what is needed before the Mexican makes a playing comeback, which seems increasingly unlikely to come this season.

“As we speak he’s in a meeting with the specialist and our doctor,” Nuno said.

“Hopefully we’ll have positive news and from there we’ll decide and see what is the best decision to make and how he is going to be involved.

“He’s well. He’s training well. His fitness is good but we have to be patient.

“There’s lots of things to consider and we have to be careful.

“The way he works and is involved in training sessions, it’s important to see him the way we see him. Totally fit, no problems at all and happy.

“He’s enjoying the training sessions and is patient for all the things to go well. I believe he wants to play but he has to be patient like all of us.

“We have a lot of boxes to tick. There’s a lot of things that after today we have to look and decide. He has to do an MRI, a scan, psychological tests, he has to first start impacting the ball with the head after all these things.

“There’s still a lot of things we must consider before we decide on Raul. The meeting is now, when we have all the information, we will sit down and carefully look at what to do and how to do it.”

Jimenez has been Wolves’ leading scorer in the last two seasons, finding the back of the net in the Premier League on 13 then 17 occasions, while he had bagged four goals in 10 appearances in this campaign prior to his injury.

While Wolves have missed his attacking threat this term, with the club set for their lowest finish since being promoted back to the top flight three years ago, Nuno is relieved Jimenez is inching closer to a full recovery.

“It makes me very happy, honestly,” Nuno added.

“After all that we’ve been through, especially Raul and his family, to see him so much closer to playing again is really good news after what happened and what it meant for everybody.”