Just two weeks away from Inter Miami’s clash with Al Nassr, the presence of the Portuguese ace is in doubt.
Rodrigo Sura / EFE / AFP
Inter Miami kicked off their preseason tour with a lacklustre 0-0 draw against El Salvador. The MLS side’s pre-season tour ahead of the new season will take the South Florida team to five countries in less than a month, with a visit to Saudi Arabia being the leg of the journey that has generated the most expectation due to the potential clash against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr.
However, alarm bells have begun to ring due to the possible absence
Cristiano Ronaldo 👑
The winner of 3 awards at Globe Soccer 🐐 pic.twitter.com/ZXzlqKfZbV— AlNassr FC (@AlNassrFC_EN) January 19, 2024
Is Ronaldo injured?
According to Saudi Arabian media outlet Arabic Sports, Cristiano’s participation in the match against Inter Miami is in doubt due to an injury that the Portuguese star is carrying, which could also leave him out of the tour of China where his side will face Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang prior to the match against Messi’s Herons.
At the time of writing, Al Nassr have not shared details about Cristiano’s injury, which according to Arabic Sports is a calf muscle issue, which will keep him in recovery and isolated training for at least a couple of weeks.
It should be noted that Cristiano has not played for Al Nassr since December 30, a game in which he closed out the year scoring and thus becoming the top scorer of 2023 and subsequently winning a Globe Soccer Award; perhaps these upcoming games could be deemed a few too many for the final stretch of the season.
❗️A visual representation depicting the injury location on Cristiano Ronaldo's back foot muscle, specifically the calf muscle. pic.twitter.com/7CYf3tyQ6E
— CristianoRealm (@TheCr7Realm) January 18, 2024
Will Messi play against Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia?
On the other hand, Inter Miami expect Messi to be part of the squad that travels to Saudi Arabia for the matches against Al Hilal and Al Nassr, as Tata Martino previously revealed in a press conference that the team’s pre-season plan was specifically designed for the games in Arabia and Japan, which gives Messi a greater chance of being present and awaiting the so-called Last Dance against Cristiano Ronaldo.
