Shocker for Al-Qadsiah: Otávio Out as Al-Nassr Clash Looms

Match Preview

Al-Qadsiah faced a tough blow just hours before their Roshn Saudi League showdown with Al-Nassr, as Portuguese midfielder Otávio Monteiro picked up an injury that rules him out of the game.

They will travel to Al-Nassr Park to meet the hosts on Thursday in the fourteenth round of the competition.

Team News and Tactical Tweaks

According to the sports daily Al-Riyadhiya, Otávio will miss the match, complicating Brendan Rodgers' plans, especially with midfielder Musab Al-Juwair also sidelined due to participation with the Saudi national team at the Under-23 Asian Cup.

Rodgers is expected to rely on Hussein Al-Qahtani in midfield to cover the gap, with further reshuffles likely to balance Otávio's absence.

This would have been Otávio's first return to Al-Nassr Park, where he spent two seasons before moving to Al-Qadsiah in the 2023 summer transfer window, but that reunion will not take place this time.

This match marks Otávio’s potential return to the venue where he spent two seasons with Al-Nassr, a reunion that won’t materialize due to the injury.

Humor aside, Rodgers now faces a midfield puzzle as Al-Qadsiah seek to secure a result away from home in the Roshn Saudi League.

Punchlines: If injuries were goals, Otávio would top the charts this week. And Rodgers will reinvent midfield on the fly—call it “winging it,” now officially an elite tactic.