In the footsteps of Hamdallah: the Al-Hilal curse strikes the top scorer of the AFC Champions League Elite

The curse of Al-Hilal, the top scorer of the Elite Jawwy League (the Saudi Under-21 League), struck ahead of the clash with Al-Taawoun in the Roshn League.

Al-Hilal visit Al-Taawoun today, Saturday, at the latter's stadium in Buraidah, in the seventh round of the Saudi Roshn League.

The hosts arrive under real pressure. They have yet to win a game this season, settling for 3 draws and 3 defeats to sit fourteenth on 3 points.

Those circumstances grew tougher still with confirmation that Moroccan striker Abderrazak Hamdallah will miss out, sidelined by the injury he picked up against Al-Fateh last Saturday in the fifth round.

Basem Al-Areeni had been lined up to lead the line in Hamdallah's absence. Then he too got injured, an issue that could keep him out for around a month and a half.

Al-Taawoun said, in a statement via their official account on "X": "The examinations conducted on the player Basem Al-Areeni confirmed that he sustained an injury to the medial collateral ligament in the right knee."

The club clarified that their young striker "requires a treatment and rehabilitation programme extending over the next 4 to 6 weeks".

Al-Areeni topped the scoring charts in the first edition of the Elite Jawwy League last season, netting 20 goals. That haul convinced Serbian coach Zarko Lazetic to promote him to the first team.

The 22-year-old has featured in 6 matches for Al-Taawoun since the campaign began, every one of them off the bench, without a goal or an assist to show for it.