Al-Nassr Faces Double Setback as Al-Ghamdi Injured
Al-Nassr head back into Roshn League action carrying an unwelcome problem: a key young prospect has been sidelined at the very moment he was breaking through.
Medical tests have confirmed that 21-year-old Rakan Al-Ghamdi has suffered a sprained knee ligament along with cartilage bruising, an injury that will keep him out for between four and six weeks. The diagnosis, reported by Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah, strips both the first team and the under-21s of a player who was starting to matter in both dressing rooms.
The timing could hardly be worse. Al-Ghamdi had just begun to carve out minutes with the seniors under Australian coach Ange Postecoglou, who handed him his first-team debut in the AFC Champions League Elite. He came on in the second half against UAE side Al-Ain in the opening round of the competition, a night that ended in a heavy 4-0 defeat for Al-Nassr but still marked a personal milestone for the youngster.
That small step forward has now been abruptly halted.
The damage was done not on a big continental stage, but in the grind of youth-team preparation. Al-Ghamdi picked up the injury during the final training session before the under-21 clash with Damac last Friday. He missed the match, which Al-Nassr went on to win 1-0 in the Joy League Elite, but the victory came at a cost that will linger for weeks.
Impact on the Club
For the club, it is a double loss. The first team are deprived of a fresh option who had just begun to edge into Postecoglou’s plans. The under-21 side, meanwhile, lose a regular at a point in the season when squad depth is crucial and every player counts. With his absence expected to stretch to at least a month, possibly more, both technical staffs are forced back to the drawing board.
The senior squad are scheduled to return to training on Monday evening after being granted a short break following their Asian campaign fixture. That session was supposed to be the start of a reset, a chance to refocus before the Roshn League resumes. Instead, it opens with an unwelcome absentee.
Upcoming Matches
Al-Nassr restart their league journey on 9 October at Al-Awwal Park, where they face Al-Diriyah in the eighth round. They sit third in the Roshn League table on 16 points, just two behind leaders Al-Hilal, and know the margin for error is slim.
Al-Ghamdi’s injury now joins the list of headaches for the coaching staff as they juggle a title push, continental commitments, and the development of their next generation. For a young midfielder who had finally stepped through the door to the first team, the race now becomes a different one: can he return quickly enough to reclaim that hard-earned place before the season’s battles reach their peak?
