Al Nassr’s manager Luis Castro has chosen to rest club captain Cristiano Ronaldo for Tuesday night’s Asian Champions League match.
This season, Ronaldo, 38, has been in scorching form, tallying 21 goals in 22 games. The Portuguese striker scored his most recent goal in Saturday’s 2-0 Saudi Pro League triumph over Al Khaleej, which helped Nassr, the runners-up from the previous season, remain in second place in the standings.
Ronaldo participated in the entire King’s Cup last-16 match between Nassr and Al Ettifaq five days prior, with Nassr winning 1-0 in extra time.
Castro did, however, confirm that Ronaldo would not be playing Tuesday in Doha against Al Duhail of Qatar, even though Nassr might have confirmed their spot in the Champions League knockout stages.
After three victories, the Riyadh club leads Group E with maximum points. In the corresponding match two weeks prior, Nassr defeated Duhail 4-3 thanks to two goals from Ronaldo.
In Ronaldo’s absence on Tuesday, Sadio Mane, the former forward for Bayern Munich and Liverpool, is anticipated to lead the line.
“Cristiano Ronaldo will not participate in the match because he is tired due to his many participations,” Castro said at Monday’s pre-match press conference. “I know that there are those who want to see him, but he needs to rest.
“He is not ready, but we have many stars. I did not decide to exclude the legend Cristiano Ronaldo, but his capabilities decided that. Because 48 hours ago he played a match, and before that he played 120 minutes.”
The Saudi Pro League action resumes on Saturday night with Nassr visiting eighth-place Al Wehda. After 12 rounds, Nassr is currently four points behind leader Al Hilal.
