Trezeguet ruled out for Al Riyadh’s Al Ahli meeting after late injury confirmation

Mahir? Wait no. Need no accidental. Let’s formulate. Headline then blank.

Al Riyadh winger Mahmoud Hassan “Trezeguet” will miss Friday’s Roshn Saudi League match against Al Ahli, with his absence confirmed as injury-related after supporters reacted angrily to his unexpected omission from the squad.

Al Riyadh travel to face Al Ahli at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium in the fifth round of the Saudi top flight. The fixture is scheduled to take place on Friday.

The club’s official account on X announced the starting line-up and substitutes before the match, but Trezeguet’s name was absent from both lists. The decision surprised sections of the Al Riyadh support, particularly because no explanation was initially provided alongside the team news.

Some fans questioned why the Egypt international had been left out and criticised the club for failing to clarify the situation. The reaction came after Trezeguet had appeared to be involved normally in the team’s final preparations.

Al Riyadh published photographs from Thursday’s last training session before the Al Ahli game. Trezeguet was visible in the images and appeared to be taking part without any obvious problem, making his omission from the matchday squad more unexpected.

However, a reporter for Thmanyah, the broadcaster showing the Saudi league, confirmed at Prince Abdullah Al-Faisal Sports City Stadium that the winger’s absence was because of an injury.

The lack of an earlier announcement left supporters speculating online. Among the comments were: “How do we not know anything about Mensah and Trezeguet!! Dead account unfortunately”; “With this line-up, I am not optimistic, but hopefully luck will be on our side”; and “So Al-Bawardi is on the bench… no comment.”

Trezeguet joined Al Riyadh during the current summer transfer window from Egyptian club Al Ahly. He had spent only one season with Al Ahly before making the move to the Saudi side.

His absence removes one of Al Riyadh’s notable attacking options for a difficult away fixture, although the club’s published team selection did not initially state the reason for leaving him out. The explanation provided by the Thmanyah reporter subsequently clarified that the omission was linked to injury rather than a tactical decision.

Friday’s match will therefore take place without Trezeguet, despite the Egyptian winger featuring in the final training photographs released by Al Riyadh on the eve of the game.