Trezeguet Injury Shocks Al-Riyadh Fans Before Al-Ahli Clash

Al-Riyadh walked into Jeddah on Friday with a storm already brewing around their biggest name.

Hours before kick-off against Al-Ahli at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in the fifth round of the Saudi Roshn League, the club’s official account on X dropped the starting line-up and bench.

No Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet”. Not even among the substitutes.

The reaction was instant. Al-Riyadh fans flooded the replies, demanding answers and questioning how their marquee summer signing could simply vanish from the squad without a word. Confusion quickly turned into anger.

Only 24 hours earlier, the club had posted photos from Thursday’s final training session. Trezeguet was there, pictured going through the session as usual, looking ready for the league showdown. No hint of a problem. No warning.

So when his name didn’t appear on the match sheet, supporters feared the worst and suspected the club was keeping something from them.

The clarity came from the stadium, not the club. Reporting from Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium, the correspondent for “Thmanyah”, the Saudi league’s broadcaster, confirmed that Trezeguet’s absence was due to injury.

One blunt update. Mystery solved, frustration not.

Trezeguet only joined Al-Riyadh in the current summer transfer window, arriving from Egypt’s Al-Ahly after just one season there. His signing was billed as a statement, a player to tilt tight games and drag the club forward in a fiercely competitive Roshn League.

Instead, on a key night against Al-Ahli, Al-Riyadh walked out without him, and with a fanbase already on edge before a ball had even been kicked.