From Al-Ittihad to Al-Hilal: the curse of the big clubs haunts Messi in the Roshn League
The curse of the big matches continued to chase Messi in the Saudi Roshn League, as it will strike him in the next match against Al-Hilal, as happened against Al-Ittihad.
Al-Hilal travel to face Al-Ettifaq on 28 November, at the latter's stadium in Dammam, in the thirteenth round of the Roshn League.
French winger Ryan Mmaee will miss the game for Al-Ettifaq, according to Saudi newspaper Arriyadiyah. He is still recovering from recent knee surgery.
Mmaee hasn't featured for Al-Ettifaq since the match against Al-Khaleej, in the eighth round of the Saudi Roshn League on 10 October, when injury struck.
That injury has already cost the Frenchman five Roshn League games, most notably the tenth-round clash with Al-Ittihad. The visit of Al-Hilal now becomes the sixth.
Mmaee may not be the only absentee. Al-Ettifaq are working flat out to get three injured players ready to face Al-Hilal: Khaled Al-Ghannam, France's Moussa Dembélé and Sweden's Jordan Larsson.
Al-Ghannam has been working through a rehabilitation programme since the start of this month after picking up a hand injury, the same problem that kept him out of the Saudi national team's camp in the Qatari capital Doha during the current international break.
Dembélé and Larsson, meanwhile, have both been nursing a grade two hamstring tear since the end of last October.
Seventh in the Saudi League on 19 points, Al-Ettifaq have five wins, four draws and three defeats to their name.
Al-Hilal, by contrast, top the Saudi Roshn League on 30 points, two clear of both Al-Qadsiah and Al-Nassr.
The leaders have their own injury worries. Doubts hang over captain Salem Al-Dawsari, who has been carrying a problem since before the start of the current international break.
"Arriyadiyah" report that "the Tornado" will undergo a medical assessment today, Saturday, to determine whether he can take part in group training.
Al-Dawsari picked up a knee injury before the international break, ruling him out of the Saudi national team's camp in Doha.
Al-Hilal's medical staff also have right-back Mohammed Mahzari to manage after he was left out of the Saudi squad in Doha.
The Saudi national team confirmed today, Saturday, that Mahzari has returned to Riyadh with a hamstring injury that rules him out of Tuesday's friendly against Uzbekistan at the Khalifa bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.
There was brighter news for the fans of "Al-Zaeem". Right-back Hamad Al-Yami is back in group training after nine months out injured.
Al-Yami suffered a kneecap injury against Al-Taawoun on 24 February, in a match postponed from the tenth round of the Saudi Roshn League, then underwent surgery in Finland last March.
Saudi journalist Ahmed Al-Ajlan explained, in a post on "X", that Al-Yami will join the capital club's group training as soon as he returns, building towards matches in the coming period after completing his rehabilitation programme.
