Al Nassr sit at the top of the Saudi Pro League with 64 points after 25 matches, but the biggest question hanging over their title challenge has nothing to do with tactics or form. Cristiano Ronaldo, their captain and leading scorer with 21 league goals, was diagnosed with a hamstring injury on March 3, 2026 following a 3–1 win over Al Fayha. He has since travelled to Madrid for specialist rehabilitation. With Al Ahli only two points behind and Al Hilal a further point back, the next six weeks could define where the 2025–26 Saudi Pro League title ends up.
How the Ronaldo Injury Happened
Al Nassr were cruising to a comfortable win over Al Fayha on March 1 when Ronaldo showed visible signs of discomfort in the 81st minute and signalled to the bench. He was substituted immediately and replaced by Abdullah Al-Hamdan. Initial assessments after the match suggested the issue might be manageable, but further tests over the following 48 hours told a different story. Al Nassr issued an official statement on March 3 confirming a hamstring injury diagnosis and announcing that Ronaldo had started a rehabilitation program under daily medical evaluation. No return date was given.
Coach Jorge Jesus addressed the media days later and did not soften the news. He confirmed that tests revealed the injury was more serious than first believed and that Ronaldo had been sent to Madrid to work with his personal medical team. The decision to fly him to Spain rather than treat him in Riyadh signals that both club and player want this handled carefully, with no rushed return that could risk a recurrence at the worst possible stage of the season.
How Long Will Ronaldo Be Out?
Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that the injury is expected to keep Ronaldo sidelined for between two and four weeks. The lower end of that timeline would put him back in contention around mid to late March, while a four-week absence would rule him out until early April. A grade 1 hamstring strain typically requires up to three weeks of recovery, while a grade 2 injury can take between four and eight weeks. Al Nassr have not confirmed the exact grade of the injury, but the club’s language around it and the decision to send Ronaldo to Madrid both suggest it sits closer to the more serious end of that spectrum.
The injury also casts doubt over Ronaldo’s participation in Portugal’s two scheduled international friendlies. Portugal face Mexico at the Azteca Stadium on March 28 and the United States in Atlanta on March 31, both serving as preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Portugal coach Roberto Martinez may need to name his squad without certainty over Ronaldo’s availability. Medical experts quoted across multiple outlets are confident the World Cup itself, which begins on June 11, remains well within reach regardless of how long this rehabilitation takes.
Al Nassr Win Without Ronaldo: The Neom Stoppage-Time Drama
Al Nassr faced their first real test without Ronaldo when they hosted Neom on March 8 in Matchday 25 of the Saudi Pro League. The match was tight throughout. Neom hit the woodposts twice through Rayane Messi and Said Benrahma, and Al Nassr’s Marcelo Brozovic also struck the frame of the goal. For 90 minutes the game appeared destined for a draw that would have allowed Al Ahli and Al Hilal to close the gap at the top.
Centre-back Mohamed Simakan had other ideas. Five minutes into stoppage time, Joao Felix delivered a free-kick from wide on the right and Simakan met it perfectly with a header that flew into the net. The final score was 1–0 to Al Nassr. The result extended their winning run to 11 consecutive Saudi Pro League victories and kept them two points clear of Al Ahli at the summit. It was the kind of win that tells you something about a squad — grinding out three points in a match where nothing was going right, in the absence of the player who scores most of their goals, is what title-winning teams do.
The Saudi Pro League Table as of March 14, 2026
Al Nassr lead the Saudi Pro League on 64 points from 25 matches played. Al Ahli sit second on 62 points, with Al Hilal third on 61 points and Al Qadsiah fourth on 57 points. The gap between first and third is just three points with nine matches remaining, making this one of the closest three-way title races the Saudi Pro League has seen in years. Al Nassr face Al Khaleej away on March 15 in Matchday 26. Al Khaleej are ninth in the table and have won just one of their last six league matches, making the fixture a strong opportunity for Al Nassr to extend their lead while Ronaldo continues his recovery in Madrid.
Al Nassr’s run-in after the Al Khaleej match includes fixtures against Al Ittihad, Al Fayha, and Al Taawon before a critical encounter with Al Ahli on April 28. The final matchday on May 7 sees them face Al Hilal. If the title is not resolved before then, that last-day fixture between first and third could be the most watched match in Saudi Pro League history.
Who Carries Al Nassr Without Ronaldo?
The Neom win answered part of the question. Joao Felix has been one of the most influential players in the Saudi Pro League this season since joining from Chelsea in July 2025, and his free-kick delivery for the Simakan winner against Neom demonstrated exactly why Al Nassr brought him in. Sadio Mane has contributed regularly throughout the campaign and offers a direct, high-energy option through the middle or from the left. Kingsley Coman has added width and creativity on the right flank. Abdullah Al-Hamdan, who replaced Ronaldo against Al Fayha, is the squad’s Saudi domestic talent and someone who benefits from the spaces that the club’s attacking style creates.
The team also has Marcelo Brozovic anchoring the midfield, a signing that gave Jorge Jesus the ball-playing defensive midfielder he needed to implement his preferred 4–3–3 shape with confidence. Al Nassr’s defensive record this season is among the best in the league, having conceded just 19 goals in 25 matches. That solidity means they do not need to score three goals every game to win. The 1–0 against Neom was the cleanest possible evidence that this squad can function without Ronaldo, even if his goals are irreplaceable over a full season run-in.
Ronaldo’s Personal Stakes: Records and the World Cup
Beyond the club title race, Ronaldo’s injury carries personal weight at a unique moment in his career. He has scored 21 Saudi Pro League goals this season and sits third in the Golden Boot standings behind Al Ahli’s Ivan Toney on 23 goals. More significantly, Ronaldo stands roughly 35 goals away from reaching 1,000 career goals across all competitions, a milestone no footballer in history has ever reached. The hamstring injury interrupts the pace at which he was approaching that landmark.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, which kicks off on June 11 in the United States, Mexico and Canada, is expected to be Ronaldo’s sixth and almost certainly final World Cup appearance. He has spoken publicly about how much the tournament means to him and how central it is to the final chapter of his career. Rushing back from a hamstring injury to play for Al Nassr in March carries a very real risk of aggravating the problem and threatening his World Cup involvement. Al Nassr’s decision to send him to Madrid rather than push for a quick return makes it clear that both parties understand what is at stake beyond the Saudi Pro League table.
Can Al Nassr Hold On and Win the Title?
Al Nassr have not won the Saudi Pro League since the 2018–19 season. Seven years of near misses and underperformance under a series of coaches came to an end when Jorge Jesus was appointed in July 2025. He brought Joao Felix and Inigo Martinez to Riyadh, imposed a defensive structure the club had not had in years, and built a team rather than a collection of stars. The result is a squad that proved, with the Neom win on March 8, that it can win even without its captain.
Al Ahli with Ivan Toney are dangerous and consistent. Al Hilal under Simone Inzaghi have gone the entire season without a league defeat. But neither side has looked as controlled or as capable of grinding out difficult results as Al Nassr have across the last 11 matches. If Ronaldo returns in late March close to full fitness, Al Nassr will enter the title run-in with the deepest and most dangerous attacking options of any team in the league. The title is theirs to lose. Based on everything this squad has shown since January, they look capable of seeing it through.