Yassine Bounou injured in warm-up before Al Hilal’s Neom match

Al Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was forced out of the squad after suffering a muscle injury during the warm-up shortly before Monday’s Saudi Pro League meeting with Neom.

Bounou had originally been named in Al Hilal’s starting line-up for the sixth round fixture. However, the Morocco international was withdrawn after sustaining the problem, with the club confirming that Mohammed Al Owais would replace him in goal.

The match is scheduled to start at 21:00 on Monday, with Al Hilal facing Neom in the Saudi league. Bounou’s late absence means Al Hilal will begin the game without the goalkeeper initially selected to play.

Al Owais will now take responsibility for protecting Al Hilal’s goal after being brought into the starting side at short notice. The change was announced by the club following Bounou’s injury during the pre-match preparations.

The fixture is also significant because it marks Gabriel Martinelli’s first start for Al Hilal since completing his move to the club.

Al Hilal announced the signing of the Brazil international from Arsenal on Thursday. Martinelli then made his debut for the Saudi club as a substitute in Friday’s match against Al Shabab.

His inclusion from the beginning against Neom represents his first appearance in Al Hilal’s starting line-up. The Brazilian’s arrival has therefore been another key point of interest around the match, although attention before kick-off was dominated by Bounou’s injury.

Bounou’s withdrawal came only minutes before the game, despite the goalkeeper having initially been included in the team announced for the fixture. The muscle issue developed during the warm-up and prevented him from taking his place between the posts.

Al Hilal have not provided any further details about the nature or expected duration of the injury in the information released ahead of the match. For Monday’s fixture, Al Owais is the goalkeeper selected to replace him.

The meeting with Neom forms part of the sixth round of the Saudi Pro League. Al Hilal entered the match with their starting team altered shortly before kick-off, while Martinelli prepared for his first start following his move from Arsenal.

Bounou’s late omission and Martinelli’s promotion to the starting side were the main team developments before the match began.