Picture Credit: X
Star Portuguese international and one of the legends of the game of football, Cristiano Ronaldo will not feature in Al Nassr’s opening game at the AFC Champions League. The Saudi club, Al Nassr will take on Al Shorta, an Iraqi team in the tournament opener on Monday night, September 16 at the Al Madina Stadium in Baghdad.
Ahead of the game, Al Nassr received a big blow with their captain, Ronaldo being diagnosed with a viral infection. As a result of this, the 39-year-old did not travel with the team to Baghdad and will miss the upcoming match.
Virus-hit Cristiano Ronaldo to miss Asian Champions League opener
With the competition set to kickstart from Monday, the veteran player will not be seen in action due to his poor health condition. The club took to X to share an update on Ronaldo’s health which read, “Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t feeling well today and was diagnosed with a viral infection. Team’s doctor confirmed he needs to rest and stay at his place. As a result, he will not be travelling with the team to Iraq today.” Furthermore, the club also expressed “speedy recovery” to their captain.
Al Nassr’s AFC Champions League 2024-25 campaign
Al Nassr is one of the three Saudi Pro League teams in the 2024-25 edition of the AFC Champions League Elite group stage. Apart from Al Nassr, Al Hilal and Al Ahli are the other two teams from the Saudi league featuring in the tournament. Moreover, the AFC Champions League 2024-25 will commence on Monday, September 16, set to be played in rebranded format with each team playing eight matches in a home and away format.
While they will commence their campaign in an away game against Al Shorta, they will next host Qatar’s AL-Rayyan before travelling to Iran to face Esteghlal. The Ronaldo-led side will then play UAE’s Al Ain, Qatar’s Al Gharafa and Al Sadd, before ending the group stage in an away game against Iran’s Persepolis on February 17, 2025.
