Is Cristiano Ronaldo injured before Al Nassr’s matches in China? Organisers insist he will play
- Chinese media were told the Portuguese would feature in games against Shanghai Shenhua on Wednesday and Zhejiang Pro on Sunday
- But rumours swirl on social media and Al Nassr footage had shown Ronaldo with a calf wrapped in tape
Question marks over whether Cristiano Ronaldo will play during his club Al Nassr’s visit to China have prompted organisers to state that the superstar will feature in both of the scheduled matches.
Ronaldo was given a hero’s welcome on Sunday by hundreds of fans on his arrival in Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, ahead of games against two Chinese Super League (CSL) clubs this week.
Al Nassr will face Shanghai Shenhua on Wednesday and Zhejiang Pro on Sunday, both at the Shenzhen Universiade Sports Centre Stadium.
However, it had been reported that Ronaldo, the Saudi club’s star attraction, was carrying a muscle injury, leading to co-organisers GHY Culture & Media telling Chinese media the Portuguese forward would feature in both games.
On Monday, rumours resurfaced – this time on Chinese social media – that Ronaldo would be ruled out for three weeks with injury.
The Post has asked GHY Culture & Media for comment.
Al Nassr have neither confirmed nor denied that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is injured, but he has barely featured in the club’s social media clips of the team training in the build-up to the China fixtures.
Ronaldo made a short cameo in a training video published on X on Saturday, the day before the team arrived in Shenzhen, but he was not filmed taking part in any drills.
The club released pictures of its first training session in Shenzhen on Monday and Ronaldo was nowhere to be seen.
In a training video published by the club last Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo had his left calf wrapped in tape.
Should Ronaldo be injured, he could miss the game against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in Riyadh on February 2. Miami will then play in Hong Kong two days later.
Lionel Messi will play for Inter Miami in Hong Kong ‘save for illness or injury’
Earlier this month, organisers were coy as to whether the Argentinian would definitely appear in Hong Kong, but a government source confirmed there were “contract terms specifying that Messi would play in the match, save for illness or injury”.
Miami lost 1-0 to FC Dallas as their preseason tour continued on Monday night, with Messi, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez all substituted after 64 minutes. The trio were all substituted at half-time in their previous friendly, a 0-0 draw away to El Salvador.
