It is possible that Cristiano Ronaldo fans won’t get to see him in action for Al Nassr’s next game. The club takes on seventh-placed Damac in their next Saudi Pro League fixture, but it is coach Luis Castro may rest the Portuguese captain. In fact, it may just be necessary to do that given that we are into the business end of the season with many important fixtures lying ahead for Knights of Najd.
Al Nassr will play their third game in the seven days when they take on Damac, hence, to manage the workload of the 37-year-old star, Luis Castro would like to preserve him for important games. The game against Damac is far from a straightforward fixture, but Castro could opt to keep CR7 away to get him ready for the big fixture against Al Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup semi-final. After all, the Super Cup presents Al Nassr with a realistic chance of silverware this season.
The season has been bittersweet for Al Nassr and the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner. Despite some scintillating performances and going on a 20-game unbeaten streak, the club fell short of reaching the AFC Champions League semifinal. The Saudi Pro League title has also become a distant dream with Al Hilal being 12 points clear of the team in yellow and only seven games left. Thus, it would be appropriate to focus on the things that are still in grasp- the Saudi Super Cup and the King Cup.
Apart from taking on Al Hilal on Monday, Al Nassr will also face Al-Khaleej in the Kings Cup semi-final next month. Both these games will hold high precedence for Castro and Ronaldo after the AFC Champions League and Saudi Pro League disappointments. Not to mention after the end of the club soccer season, Ronaldo will be leading Portugal at the Euro 2024 tournament in June. Thus preserving him for key fixtures becomes imperative and something both the player and the coach will want.
In fact, in the last few months, Cristiano Ronaldo has been used judiciously. The player suffered an injury scare earlier this year with a calf issue, even canceling Al Nassr’s China tour. The player had to deal with a clustered number of games for both the club and the country this season which saw him taking breaks in between.
Still, Ronaldo will be motivated to win more trophies with Al Nassr having led the club to the Arab Club Champions Cup title last year. Can he salvage Al Nassr’s season with at least one trophy?
