Cristiano Ronaldo is pushing Al Nassr again towards the highest of the Saudi Professional League after an uneven begin to 2026, with the workforce stringing collectively three straight wins. Nonetheless, forward of Friday’s match towards Al Kholood, Ronaldo can be coping with a squad setback after certainly one of Al Nassr’s key gamers picked up an damage.
Absences have already confirmed expensive for Al Nassr, who opened the season with a historic run of 10 consecutive league wins earlier than accidents and worldwide call-ups took their toll. Mohamed Simakan’s damage and Sadio Mané’s departure for the 2025 AFCON disrupted the workforce’s momentum, and now one other setback has emerged.
Based on Ariyadhiah, Marcelo Brozović will miss Matchday 19 towards Al Kholood. The midfielder felt ache in his thigh early in Wednesday’s coaching session, prompting the membership to resolve on relaxation fairly than danger additional damage.
The Saudi outlet added that Brozović underwent medical checks on Thursday to evaluate his situation and potential return to coaching. After analysis, the medical workers dominated him out for the match, along with his restoration timeline but to be decided.
Marcelo Brozovic of Al Nassr.
Because the workforce’s holding midfielder, Brozović has been a stabilizing presence since becoming a member of Al Nassr in 2023. Within the 2025-26 marketing campaign, he has recorded one aim and 4 assists in 23 appearances, making his absence a major blow as Ronaldo appears to be like to shut the hole on the high of the SPL standings.
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Al Nassr face one other midfield problem
With Simakan sidelined earlier within the season, Al Nassr’s defensive solidity suffered, conceding as many targets throughout his absence as that they had beforehand allowed throughout the marketing campaign. Though the French middle again has returned, changing Brozović now presents a contemporary take a look at for head coach Jorge Jesus.
The Croatian has already missed two league matches this season, one by means of damage and one other as a consequence of yellow-card accumulation. In these video games, a 2-0 street win over Al Hazem and a 3-2 victory towards Al Shabab on January 17, Jesus opted for a double-pivot setup that includes Angelo and Abdullah Al Khaibari, each of whom carried out reliably.
Nonetheless, Al Khaibari is suspended for the conflict with Al Kholood after accumulating yellow playing cards. That leaves Ali Al Hassan because the possible alternative, regardless of having logged simply 440 minutes throughout 22 appearances this season, a dangerous name at a second when Al Nassr can sick afford to drop factors.
