Al-Nassr heads into the AFC Champions League Two final against Gamba Osaka with Cristiano Ronaldo — the club’s 41-year-old marquee forward — reported to be a candidate to start the match on the bench, according to reports from Saudi Arabia.
The uncertainty comes as a string of injuries hit Jorge Jesus’s squad. Saudi sports outlet Arriyadiyah said the injured group included Marcelo Brozovic, Angelo, Abdullah Al Khaibari, Abdulelah Al Amri and Kingsley Coman, and that all five missed training and received treatment at the club’s medical facility. Arriyadiyah further identified Brozovic as the least likely to recover in time for the final.
Those absences matter in concrete terms. Kingsley Coman has been Al-Nassr’s most productive attacker in the AFC Champions League Two campaign, scoring six goals, and Brozovic is a midfield fulcrum whose absence would force a reconfiguration. For Ronaldo — who joined Al-Nassr after winning five UEFA Champions League titles in Europe and is still chasing his first major trophy with the club — the prospect of starting from the bench is a headline development.
The final will be played at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh, giving Al-Nassr a chance to lift continental silverware in front of its own supporters. That stage also sharpens another pressure point: the domestic title race. Al-Nassr drew 1-1 with Al-Hilal in midweek, a result that prevented the club from clinching the Saudi Pro League when a mistake from goalkeeper Bento cost them the points needed. The team still controls its destiny and will face Damac in the final league round, but the double on two fronts complicates selection choices for Jesus.
Jesus has already taken steps to expand his options. The coach promoted Abdulmalik Al-Jaber, Awad Aman, Saad Haqawi and Sami Al-Najai from the under-21 squad into first-team training ahead of the final, a signal that youth players could be asked to shoulder significant minutes. Arriyadiyah also reported that Abdullah Al-Hamdan has been prepared as a possible starter in Ronaldo’s place, underscoring how stretched the squad could be if several senior names fail to recover.
The tension is plain: Al-Nassr must field a team capable of winning a continental final at home while navigating a league title decider days later. If Brozovic remains sidelined and Coman is limited, Jesus faces a binary choice — protect Ronaldo’s fitness and risk appearing to weaken the side elsewhere, or bench him and trust promoted youngsters and secondary starters in a match few supporters will accept losing at home.
For Ronaldo, the stakes are personal and immediate. He arrived in Saudi Arabia with a storied European record and five Champions League trophies; yet the trophy cabinet at Al-Nassr remains incomplete. With training reports, medical updates and a league match still to play before the showpiece, the manager’s selection for Al-Awwal Park will determine whether Ronaldo’s wait for a first major club honour in Saudi Arabia ends under the lights or stretches on.
