Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly enters final stage of recovery as Al Nassr face SPL schedule changes
Cristiano Ronaldo‘s muscle injury forced him to miss the Portugal national team’s March international window in order to complete his recovery in Saudi Arabia. With Al Nassr also navigating schedule changes in the 2025-26 Saudi Pro League, the Portuguese star is reportedly entering the final stretch of his rehabilitation.
The hamstring injury Ronaldo suffered against Al Fayha on February 28 has kept him off the field for the entire month of March. The forward has missed two club matches and was also passed over for Portugal’s two friendlies, but his return to action is now drawing close.
As reported by Al Nassr reporter Abdulaziz Al-Osaimi, Ronaldo has been reporting to the club’s training facilities regularly. However, the Portuguese star is currently limited to individual sessions rather than full group training alongside his teammates.
Reports have emerged suggesting that team physician Dr. Carlos Miguel has cleared both Ronaldo and Sadio Mane to rejoin group training from Sunday onward. However, Ronaldo has opted to remain cautious and take a measured approach to avoid any risk of a setback.
Ronaldo offered an encouraging update on his recovery two days ago with an Instagram post captioned “On the ball” during a training session. With their respective rehabilitation programs now complete, head coach Jorge Jesus could have both Ronaldo and Mane available for the next match against Al Najma on Friday, April 3.
More schedule changes for Al Nassr
With the March international break now behind them, clubs are set to return to action next week, and Al Nassr are no exception. For Ronaldo, however, his comeback from injury coincides with a notable shift in the team’s fixture schedule.
The Saudi Pro League has confirmed that Al Nassr’s Matchday 29 clash against Al Ettifaq at Al Awwal Park has been moved to Wednesday, April 15, nine days earlier than its original date of Friday, April 24. As a result, the team will now face Al Najma on April 3, Al Okhdood on April 11 and Al Ettifaq on April 15 in a compressed run of fixtures.
The reshuffle also overlaps with what could be Al Nassr’s run to the AFC Champions League Two semifinals. The club is set to face Al Wasl on April 19 at Zabeel Stadium in Dubai in the single-leg quarterfinals, a format that has already drawn displeasure from the Saudi side, and the semifinals are scheduled to fall just one or two days before the original Al Ettifaq date, making it effectively impossible to fulfill both commitments under the previous schedule.
Moving the Al Ettifaq match to April 15 eases some of the congestion, but Jorge Jesus still faces a significant decision with only three days of rest before the Al Wasl quarterfinal, namely whether to prioritize the Saudi Pro League title race or manage his squad with an eye on the Champions League Two.