Al-Nassr Faces Double Loss with Rakan Al-Ghamdi's Injury
Al-Nassr have been hit by a setback on two fronts just as the Roshn League is about to restart, losing a young player who had one foot in the first team and the other anchoring the under-21s.
Double loss for Al-Nassr
Medical tests have confirmed that 21-year-old Rakan Al-Ghamdi has suffered a sprained knee ligament along with bruised cartilage. The diagnosis means he is expected to be sidelined for between four and six weeks, ruling him out of a crucial stretch of fixtures for both club levels.
The timing could hardly be worse. Al-Ghamdi had just begun to break into the senior squad, rewarded for his progress when Australian coach Ange Postecoglou brought him on in the second half against Al-Ain in the opening round of the AFC Champions League Elite. That night ended in a heavy 4-0 defeat for Al-Nassr, but for the young midfielder it was a landmark moment: his first taste of continental football with the first team.
Now that momentum has been abruptly halted.
Injury in youth training, impact on first team
The injury did not even come in a high-profile match. Al-Ghamdi went down during the final training session with the under-21s ahead of their Joy League Elite clash with Damac last Friday. Al-Nassr’s youngsters went on to win that game 1-0, but they did so without one of their key pieces, who had already been ruled out by the medical staff.
So the club loses a player twice over. The first team is deprived of a fresh option who had just started to appear in Postecoglou’s plans. The under-21 side, meanwhile, must cope without him at a stage of the season when squad depth matters and every available player counts.
With the absence expected to stretch to at least a month, possibly longer, the blow will be felt in both dressing rooms.
Roshn League race tightens
Al-Nassr’s senior squad are due back in training on Monday evening, after being given a short rest following their Asian assignment. The focus now turns back to the Roshn League, where the club resumes its campaign against Al-Diriyah on 9 October at Al-Awwal Park in the eighth round.
They return to domestic duty sitting third in the table on 16 points, just two behind leaders Al-Hilal. The margins are thin, the schedule unforgiving, and Al-Ghamdi’s enforced layoff only adds to the technical staff’s headaches at a time when competition for every point is fierce.
For a young player who had finally stepped through the first-team door, and for a club chasing on multiple fronts, the question now is simple: who steps up to fill the gap in the weeks that could shape their season?
