Al-Nassr Faces Setback with Rakan Al-Ghamdi Injury

Al-Nassr have been hit with a setback on two fronts just as the Roshn League is about to restart, losing a rising talent who had one foot in the first team and the other anchoring the under-21s.

Young hopeful sidelined

Medical tests have confirmed that 21-year-old Rakan Al-Ghamdi has suffered a sprained knee ligament along with cartilage bruising. The diagnosis means he is expected to be out for between four and six weeks, ruling him out of a key stretch of the season.

The timing could hardly be worse. Al-Ghamdi had just begun to feel the door to the senior squad opening. Ange Postecoglou brought him on for his first-team debut in the second half against Al-Ain of the UAE in the opening round of the AFC Champions League Elite. The night ended in a heavy 4-0 defeat for Al-Nassr, but for the young midfielder it had looked like the start of something.

Instead, it became a cruel turning point.

Blow to first team and under-21s

The injury did not even arrive on a big continental stage, but in the grind of preparation. Al-Ghamdi picked it up during the final training session before the under-21 clash with Damac last Friday in the Joy League Elite. Al-Nassr’s youngsters went on to win that game 1-0, but they lost a key piece of their squad in the process.

So the damage cuts both ways. The first team lose a player who had finally forced his way into Postecoglou’s thoughts. The under-21s lose a regular at a phase of the season when every option matters. With the medical team projecting at least a month on the sidelines, possibly more, the absence stretches over a crucial run of fixtures.

For the coaching staff, already juggling workloads between league, continental commitments and youth development, it is another headache they did not need.

Roshn League push resumes

Al-Nassr’s first-team players are scheduled to return to training on Monday evening, after being granted a short break following the Asian assignment against Al-Ain. The reset will be brief. The Roshn League campaign resumes on 9 October, when Al-Nassr host Al-Diriyah at Al-Awwal Park in the eighth round.

They go into that game sitting third in the table on 16 points, two behind leaders Al-Hilal. The margins at the top are already thin. Losing a versatile young squad member who could cover minutes across competitions strips away a layer of depth just as the calendar tightens.

Al-Ghamdi’s rise has been put on hold, not ended. The question now is simple: when he returns, will Al-Nassr still be within striking distance of the summit he was just starting to climb towards?