Age is just a number for players like Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar may have turned 39 on Monday, but it’s hard to tell. In his return to team practice with Al-Nassr, the veteran striker has already made the difference.
The Riyadh-based outfit celebrated Ronaldo’s return to the team activities on social media, sharing a video of his goals during training. His first goal was a clinical finish in front of the net, while he pulled off more of his magic for the second one.
Ronaldo is coming back from a calf injury suffered during the midseason break in the Saudi Pro League. That setback saw him miss the highly anticipated friendly against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami as well as two friendlies in China which were postponed by Al-Nassr due to his unavailability.
Ronaldo back with Al-Nassr after injury that ruled him out of friendlies
“I want to say sorry to the Chinese fans, especially in Shenzhen,” Ronaldo said in a press conference to apologize to his fans in China. “Because as you know, in football, some things you cannot control. As you know, I played 22 years in football and I’m the player who doesn’t have too many injuries. So I’m really sad, because Al Nassr and myself, we come here to China to enjoy the tour … But we have to see this in a good way. When I say in a good way, I mean, we [have] not canceled the game. We’re going to postpone the game. We want to be back here to your country. We will be back.”
Cristiano Ronaldo warms up prior to an Al-Nassr game.
Ronaldo’s injury may have forced Al-Nassr to postpone two out of three scheduled friendlies, but they certainly did well without him against Inter Miami, putting six past the MLS side in the Riyadh Season Cup.
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Luis Castro’s team will take on Al-Hilal in another exhibition match on February 8 before returning to official competition on Feb. 14 against Al Feiha in the first leg of the AFC Champions League round of 16. Three days later, Al-Nassr will welcome Al Fateh to Al-Awwal Park in the resumption of the Saudi Pro League.
