Cristiano Ronaldo is a doubt to make his first appearance of the new Saudi Pro League season as Al Nassr aim to continue their strong start under Ange Postecoglou at Al Riyadh on Friday.

Al Nassr have begun the Postecoglou era in fine form, the defending Pro League champions claiming a 4-1 victory in the round of 32 of the King’s Cup against Diriyah before then cruising to a 3-0 win over Al Fateh in their league opener.

Ronaldo missed both of those games and, while it is hoped he could return against their neighbours, a pelvic muscle injury could yet keep the Portugal legend on the sideline.

The 41-year-old trained away from the rest of the team on Wednesday as he recovers from that injury, having felt pain when training with the squad last week.

It was reported a decision on his availability would be made by the medical staff following Thursday’s training session.

With or without Ronaldo, Al Nassr will be heavy favourites to claim all three points.

Al Riyadh narrowly avoided relegation last season, surviving by just one point. They opened their campaign with a 4-2 defeat to Al Ettifaq, but bounced back by beating Al Zulfi 2-0 in the King’s Cup.

Their record against Al Nassr is dreadful. They have not avoided defeat against the champions since a 2-2 draw in May, 2024. Al Nassr completed the league double over Al Riyadh last season, winning 5-1 at home and 1-0 away.

Team news for Al Riyadh v Al Nassr FC

While Ronaldo’s fitness remains the subject of doubt, Mohamed Maran (hamstring) and Saad Al-Nasser (ankle) will both miss out, with the former expected to be unavailable for around six weeks.