Winging It: Inzaghi Unveils a Fresh Fix for Al Hilal’s Right Flank

New Fix on the Right Flank

Italian coach Simone Inzaghi, the man steering Al Hilal, has identified a fresh approach to shore up the team’s vulnerable right side ahead of a demanding schedule. With the right-back position repeatedly exposed, he is weighing a plan that could reshape the back line and buy the attack a little more freedom on the wing.

Injury Woes and Tactical Realities

The Saudi press notes that Inzaghi could deploy defender Hassan Tambakti at right-back in the coming fixtures, starting with the clash against Al Fateh. Tambakti is coming back from an abbreviation of his own after an injury in national team duties, and this move would allow the coach to retool without entirely overhauling the defense. In the meantime, the campaign has been hampered by a spate of knocks across the squad.

Al Hilal announced five injury concerns on its official channels: Meteb Alharbi, Hamad Al-Yami, Hassan Tambakti, Ali Lagami, and Uruguayan striker Darwin Nunez. A torn muscle in the rear thigh sidelines Meteb for several weeks, while Hamad Al-Yami is battling a hamstring issue that will keep him out for around six to eight weeks. Tambakti is undergoing rehab after foot-related problems contracted during the national team camp, delaying his return to full training.

With Cancelo sidelined from the domestic squad after a serious early-season injury, Inzaghi initially leaned on Hamad Al-Yami at right-back, a plan that quickly faltered due to recurring knocks. The cooling-off period for Cancelo and the defensive gaps that followed have pushed the coach to experiment with the left-back Metab Alharbi filling the right flank in recent matches, a stopgap that’s not sustainable in a tightly contested season.

In this tough context, tapping Tambakti as the right-back becomes a high-stakes option. If he starts there, it would force a central-defender pairing to cover, given Ali Lagami’s ongoing rehabilitation and uncertainty over each player’s return date. Turkish defender Yusuf Acikisik has been floated as a potential stopgap, though adding him to the foreign quota would complicate squad planning alongside Kalidou Koulibaly in central defense. An alternative on the table could be Ali Al-Bulayhi, though he is not a guaranteed starter this term, making a straightforward pick risky. There’s also potential merit in deploying Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves in a back-line role if the tactical setup shifts, even though that would be a non-traditional arrangement for him.

And if the stars align in the worst possible way, there’s the final option of placing Portuguese midfielder Ruben Neves deeper—an audacious pivot that would redraw the team’s balance but could be a necessity if injuries bite hard and suspensions loom.

Big Challenges Ahead

For Inzaghi, the timing could not be more critical. Al Hilal is chasing a triple crown: the Saudi Pro League, the King’s Cup, and the AFC Champions League. The injuries tighten the margins and heighten the risk of dropping points at inopportune moments. The league demands consistency, especially in the run-in before the title-deciding phases, while the King’s Cup presents knockout pressure where a single misstep ends the dream for the season. The AFC Champions League, meanwhile, tests depth, travel, and tactical flexibility against varied opponents from the region.

Defensively, the interruption of key players could force repeated changes in the lineup, potentially unsettling cohesion and the fluidity between defense and attack. The coaching staff will need to craft contingency plans and ensure ready-made alternatives for every opponent, because cup ties and continental fixtures do not respect names on the back of shirts. Al Hilal’s legacy of success raises the bar even higher, demanding adherence to a high ceiling of performance across both domestic and international stages.

Inzaghi’s mission remains: stabilize a defense hit by injuries, exploit the wing when possible, and balance risk with pragmatism as the season intensifies. The road ahead will test tactical imagination, squad depth, and the ability to press through pain to preserve a bid for glory across multiple fronts.

Punchline time: If wing play were a dating app, Inzaghi would be swiping right on every winger—defensive stability be damned, the right flank must feel the love. Punchline two: When the right-back is a puzzle, just remember that in football, sometimes the only thing sharper than a cross is a manager’s wit—because depth charts don’t come with a warranty, but sarcasm does.