Officially.. Cristiano Ronaldo will miss the match between Al-Nassr and Al-Sadd

Al-Nassr coach Stefano Pioli confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will not participate in the Al-Sadd match on Monday in the AFC Champions League.

The Saudi club secured its qualification to the round of 16 of the Champions League after winning in the last round against Al-Gharafa 3-1, in a match in which the Don scored two goals.

Pioli said in the press conference that Ronaldo missed Al-Nassr’s group training on Sunday in order to recover, and that he decided to exclude him from the Al-Sadd match to give him more time to rest.

Ronaldo had scored two goals in the victory over Damak last Friday, and in light of the pressure of matches and the qualification in the Champions League, Pioli’s decision to rest the 39-year-old seems logical.

The Italian coach also revealed that defender Mohammed Simakan will miss the Al-Sadd match due to the injury he sustained in the Damak match.

It remains to be noted that Al-Nassr occupies third place in the AFC Champions League group standings for the elite with 13 points, equal with Al-Hilal, and two points behind the leader Al-Ahly.

It is also worth noting that Ronaldo is Al-Nassr’s top scorer in the Champions League after scoring 4 goals in 4 matches, noting that he is the most contributor to goals with the Knight of Najd this season, scoring 15 goals and making 3 others in all tournaments.