Cristiano Ronaldo is preparing for the AFC Champions League Two final against Gamba Osaka as Al-Nassr contend with a string of injuries that have left manager Jorge Jesus weighing his options, including reports that the 41-year-old forward could begin the match on the bench.
The injured group, local reports say, includes Marcelo Brozovic and Kingsley Coman — the latter the club's top scorer in the continental campaign with six goals — and several others who missed training and required treatment ahead of the showpiece. That list, reported by Arriyadiyah, also cited Angelo, Abdullah Al Khaibari and Abdulelah Al Amri among the players sidelined.
Those absences complicate a club week that already carried mixed outcomes: Al-Nassr drew 1-1 with Al-Hilal in midweek and a costly mistake from the goalkeeper prevented the side from wrapping up the Saudi Pro League title. The draw means Al-Nassr still control their destiny heading into the final round against Damac, but the focus has now pivoted quickly to continental silverware.
Al-Nassr will attempt to secure the AFC trophy in front of their own supporters at Al-Awwal Park, a potential coronation on home soil that would add a first major title to Ronaldo's time at the club. Despite his five UEFA Champions League wins with Real Madrid, Ronaldo has not yet won a major trophy with Al-Nassr, a fact that gives the final outsized symbolic weight for the forward.
Jesus has tried to widen his options. With several first-team regulars absent, he has promoted four players from the under-21 squad into first-team training, giving fresh faces a chance to push for places in the matchday squad. The coaching staff has also prepared Abdullah Al-Hamdan as a possible starter should the manager opt to keep Ronaldo on the bench.
The tension for Jesus is practical and immediate: start Ronaldo and risk exposing him if he is not fully fit, or rest the club's marquee figure in favor of match-ready alternatives and the youth players thrust into the group. Reports from Saudi Arabia that Ronaldo could be benched underline a conservative path, while the roster of injured names suggests that caution may be unavoidable.
For Al-Nassr, the decisions carry dual significance. A victory would hand continental glory at Al-Awwal Park and complete a season in which the club still chases domestic success, but the coach's selection will also determine whether Ronaldo finally collects a major trophy with the side that signed him as a global headline act. Kingsley Coman's six-goal haul in the tournament has been central to Al-Nassr's run, and his availability — along with Brozovic's condition — will be decisive.
Whatever Jesus chooses on matchday, the practical conclusion is clear: his selection will not be about sentiment. With injuries threatening the engine of the team and the league title still within reach, a cautious, results-first set-up that limits Ronaldo's minutes is the option the facts point to. The final will tell whether that pragmatism secures the club's long-awaited continental prize and gives Ronaldo the major honour that has so far eluded him at Al-Nassr.
