Ryan Messi set to miss Al-Ettifaq’s meeting with league leaders Al-Hilal

Ryan Messi is expected to miss Al-Ettifaq’s Saudi Pro League fixture against Al-Hilal on 28 November after failing to recover from knee surgery.

Al-Hilal will travel to Al-Ettifaq’s stadium in Dammam for the 13th-round meeting, with the French winger having been absent since the club’s match against Al-Khaleej in the eighth round on 10 October because of injury.

The Saudi newspaper Al Riyadiyah reported that Messi has not yet completed his recovery and will therefore miss a sixth league match. His previous five absences included Al-Ettifaq’s game against Al-Ittihad in the 10th round.

Al-Ettifaq could also be without three other players as the club attempts to make Khalid Al-Ghannam, Moussa Dembele and Jordan Larsson fit for the visit of Al-Hilal.

Al-Ghannam has been following a rehabilitation programme since the beginning of November after suffering a hand injury. That problem ruled him out of Saudi Arabia’s training camp in Doha during the current international break.

Dembele and Larsson, meanwhile, have both been sidelined since the end of October with grade-two hamstring tears.

Al-Ettifaq go into the match seventh in the Saudi Pro League table on 19 points, having recorded five wins, four draws and three defeats. Al-Hilal lead the division with 30 points, two clear of both Al-Qadsiah and Al-Nassr.

There are also doubts over the availability of Al-Hilal captain Salem Al-Dawsari, who has been carrying an injury since before the international break. Al Riyadiyah said “The Tornado” would undergo a medical assessment on Saturday to determine whether he could return to group training.

Al-Dawsari suffered a knee injury before the break and was consequently left out of Saudi Arabia’s camp in Doha. Al-Hilal’s medical team will also monitor right-back Mohammed Al-Mahzari after he was released from the national squad because of a hamstring injury.

The Saudi national team confirmed on Saturday that Al-Mahzari had returned to Riyadh. His injury will prevent him from playing in the friendly against Uzbekistan on Tuesday at Khalifa bin Hamad Stadium in Doha.

Al-Hilal did receive positive news with the return of right-back Hamad Al-Yami to full team training. He had been out for nine months after injuring his kneecap during Al-Hilal’s match against Al-Taawoun on 24 February, a rearranged fixture from the 10th round of the Saudi Pro League.

Al-Yami underwent surgery in Finland in March. Saudi journalist Ahmed Al-Ajlan said in a post on X that the defender would join the capital club’s group sessions when the team resumed training, having completed his rehabilitation programme, as he prepares to return to competitive action.