DOHA, Nov 6: The Saudi Al-Nasr delegation, currently in Qatar for their AFC Champions League group stage match against Al-Duhail, will not have the presence of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo.

Luis Castro, the Portuguese coach of Al-Nassr Saudi Arabia, has chosen to rest team captain Cristiano Ronaldo for today's match against Al-Duhail. This decision was made to avoid subjecting the Portuguese star to exhaustion from ongoing matches.

In addition to Cristiano Ronaldo, several other players, including Spanish defender Aymeric Laporte, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Abdulaziz Al-Aliwa, goalkeeper Raghed Al-Najjar, and Nawaf Bushel, will also be absent from Al-Nasr's squad for various reasons.

Currently, Al-Nasr lead Group Five with 9 points from 3 matches, followed by Persepolis with 6 points. Al-Duhail and Esteghlal Dushanbe both have one point each.

In a related context, the Al Ain delegation has arrived in Saudi Arabia in preparation for their match against Al-Fayhaa, their hosts, in the fourth round of the AFC Champions League's first group.