Reports that Cristiano Ronaldo had left Saudi Arabia amid the conflict in the Middle East were dispelled by his club Al Nassr, who posted pictures of their captain training with teammates.
Several outlets reported that Ronaldo's private jet had landed in Madrid on Monday following the bombing of the US embassy in Riyadh by Iran. Ronaldo lives in the kingdom's capital with partner Georgina Rodriguez and his five children.
The inference was that Ronaldo was on the plane. However, the 41-year-old Portuguese is very much still in Riyadh, according to the club's social media posts.
Nassr shared a picture on Monday of Ronaldo at their training ground. This photo followed a video of the forward working in the gym.
However, Ronaldo in Riyadh does not translate into Ronaldo ready to face Neom this Saturday.
Nassr added a further post on X on Tuesday saying that their star player had suffered a hamstring injury in the weekend win over Al Fayha. They gave no timeline for his recovery.
“Cristiano Ronaldo has been diagnosed with a hamstring injury after the last game against Al Fayha,” the statement said. “He started a rehabilitation programme and will be under evaluation day by day.”
Ronaldo missed a penalty before his Nassr teammates saved his blushes with a late fightback to beat Al Fahya 3-1.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star inexplicably missed the target when handed the perfect chance to put his side in front early on Saturday night.
Ronaldo was withdrawn from the game in the closing stages due to the hamstring complaint, and there are now fears as to how many games he will miss with only 10 Saudi Pro League games to go.
Victory over Fayha sent Nassr top of the league at Al Ahli's expense. The gap is only two points, and Ahli can reclaim first place if they emerge victorious over neighbours Al Ittihad in the Sea Derby on Friday.
Nassr are seeking to end a seven-year wait for a domestic league title. Ronaldo is still searching for his first major trophy since his move to the kingdom in late 2022.
With Ronaldo almost certain to miss the Neom game, responsibility for goals will fall on the shoulders of Sadio Mane, Joao Felix and Kingsley Coman.
All three were pivotal in the comeback win over Fayha. Mane swept home Kingsley Coman's cross deep into the second half.
Fayha keeper Orlando Mosquera was then credited with an own goal that he knew nothing about as Joao Felix's superb strike hit the post and rebounded off the keeper's back and into the net. Felix then set up Abdullah Al Hamddan for an easy third.
Joao Felix is a player finding form at just the right time. Although the summer signing from Chelsea has failed to score since the end of December, his contributions against Fayha marked his 22nd goal contribution (13 goals, nine assists) in 24 league games.
Following that match, he spoke of his hunger to win the league and praised his team's robust response to falling behind to Fayha.
“I just want to have the league title – that's the most important,” the Portuguese forward said. “Then that comes after. But I'm just here to fight for the title.
“This is a team that has big-name players. They are used to competing in the best leagues, in the best environments.
“So, losing 1-0 at half time, we don't feel the pressure. We just keep doing the same because we were playing well. They didn't shoot at the goal and they scored; that's football. We knew that we were doing a good job.
“We just needed to keep going – and that's what we did.”
Mane, too, has been in inspired form since returning from winning the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal. Four goals in eight games is not Ronaldo form (20 in the league for the season), but with his return date unknown, the former Liverpool man will take on a more prominent role.
Victory over Fayha was Nassr's 10th league win on the spin, matching their run to start the campaign. Neom are eighth in the division but way off the pace to challenge for Asian qualification. An 11th consecutive win would keep Nassr firmly in the hunt for an 11th SPL title.
All indications are that this week's round of matches will go ahead as scheduled despite the continuing threat posed by Iranian retaliation on its Gulf neighbours in response to US-Israeli attacks. Qatar and Bahrain have suspended their competitions. The National has reached out to the UAE Pro League to ask if any games will be affected by the continuing attacks in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Sea Derby promises fireworks
The Sea Derby between Jeddah giants Al Ahli and Al Ittihad is one of the standout fixtures in the SPL calendar.
The atmosphere at King Abdullah Sports City is sure to be electric as hosts Ahli continue their quest to become the new kings of Saudi Arabia.
Matthias Jaissle's side trail league leaders Nassr by two points in the standings but can go above them, if only for 24 hours, with victory over the reigning title holders.
Ahli needed a Milan Borjan own goal before seeing off a plucky Al Riyadh last time out. Ittihad, meanwhile, were thankful for Danilo Pereira’s goal in breaking down a stubborn Al Khaleej.
What it sets up, though, is another thrilling chapter in the Sea Derby this coming Friday, with both Jeddah clubs undefeated in their past four games.
With games in the AFC Champions League halted amid the closure of airspace in Gulf countries, Ahli are free to focus all efforts on their domestic title charge.
Ittihad’s trophy defence hasn’t gone as planned, but the fifth-placed side would love nothing more than putting a dent in their neighbours' title hopes.
Concerns for Al Hilal despite win
Al Hilal got back to winning ways last Friday, edging an eight-goal thriller against Al Shabab 5-3.
It kept Simone Inzaghi's side in title contention, following successive draws. Hilal now trail leaders Nassr by three points. They previously led the league by seven points.
Although they returned to the win column, victory did little to dispel lingering doubts as to whether Hilal have the squad depth to last the distance.
With Ruben Neves and Hassan Tambakti joining Karim Benzema on the injury list, it was left to the likes of Saudi internationals Mohamed Kanno and Sultan Mandash to carry the fight to Shabab. They did so with aplomb, with both on the scoresheet.
Perhaps more concerning to Inzaghi is his side's inability to stop shipping goals – it is now four games without a clean sheet across competitions.
