Bounou Injury Complicates Al-Hilal's Al-Taawoun Trip

Al-Hilal’s week has gone from bad to worse. First came the shock defeat to Neom. Now, just days before a tricky trip to Buraidah, they are sweating over Yassine Bounou.

The club confirmed on Wednesday that the Moroccan goalkeeper skipped group training after suffering a hamstring injury, throwing fresh doubt over his availability for Saturday’s Saudi Roshn League clash with Al-Taawoun in the seventh round.

Al-Hilal announced via a post on their official X account that Bounou had reported to the medical clinic at the Al-Majidiyah sports centre, where tests revealed the hamstring problem.

The issue actually surfaced before the Neom match at Kingdom Arena on Monday in the sixth round of the league. Bounou did not feature; Mohammed Al-Owais stepped in but was unable to prevent a 2-0 defeat that stunned the league leaders and snapped their momentum.

Physiotherapy specialist Thamer Al-Shahrani has downplayed the severity of the injury, describing it as minor and insisting there is no major cause for alarm. The timing tells a different story. With only 72 hours between the latest medical update and the Al-Taawoun fixture, Bounou’s status remains uncertain and casts a shadow over Al-Hilal’s preparations.

The stakes are clear. Al-Hilal still sit top of the Saudi Roshn League table with 15 points from five wins and one loss, edging second-placed Al-Qadsiah on goal difference. Any further slip, especially without their first-choice goalkeeper, would tighten the race at the summit and test the league leaders’ nerve far earlier in the season than they expected.