At 5 ft 9, Gabriel Jesus is not what you would call an aerial threat.
And that’s just as handy because, apparently, the Manchester City forward simply doesn’t like heading the football.
Jesus is currently recovering from a broken eye socket, an injury he picked up in a clash with City teammate Nicolas Otamendi during a friendly game between Brazil and Argentina last month.
The Brazilian forward required a stretcher when an elbow from the defender in injury time left him in a heap on the ground.
The Brazilian needed a stretcher https://t.co/3NYHdYro3y
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) June 9, 2017
But that aerial duel is not the reason why Jesus is cautious of heading the ball.
That particular fear manifested itself years earlier when, as a child, he injured his head and has since always felt slightly scared when contesting for headers.
“I have a little trauma. I hit my head when I was a kid,” Jesus told Esp_Interativ, via Manchester Evening News.
“Probably that is why I’m little afraid of that.”
Jesus spent a large portion of his debut season in the Premier League on the sidelines, having broken his metatarsal in February, but he returned before the campaign was out and continued where he left off in the goalscoring department.
The 20-year-old allayed fears that he would need surgery on his eye, posting the below tweet after seeing a doctor.
#alômãe NÃO VOU PRECISAR OPERAR! Em 3 sem. já devo estar de volta! Mt obrigado 🙏🏾 a tds pela torcida e carinho! Obrigado Dr. Pagura e equipe
— Gabriel Jesus (@gabrieljesus9) June 14, 2017
“I won’t have to have an operation,” he wrote. “I should be back within three weeks. Many thanks to all the fans for the support and love. Thanks to Dr Pagura and his team.”
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