Al-Nassr announced that it would postpone its midseason tour of China on Tuesday, the day before it was scheduled to kick off its second-to-last match, while captain Cristiano Ronaldo also revealed that he would have been unable to participate with an injury.
The Saudi Pro League side was to play Chinese Super League sides Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang on Jan. 24 and 28, respectively, in Shenzhen during their winter break.
Al-Nassr had already arrived in Shenzhen ahead of the friendlies, but issued a statement on social media confirming that the friendlies would be pushed "for reasons beyond Al-Nassr's control." Ronaldo and organizers of the matches later appeared in front of members of the media, when the player apologized to fans who had already purchased tickets.
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"I have played 22 years in football and I am a player that doesn't have too many injuries. So I'm really sad because Al-Nassr and myself have come to China to enjoy the tour," he said, per Goal. "I know you are sad too, especially the people who love Cristiano, but we have to see this in a good way. We have not canceled the game, we want to push for the game and be back here. We will be back. Unfortunately, I have some problem, but this is part of football and my life."
Ronaldo did not specify the nature of the injury, and there is currently no public timeline on his recovery. His availability for the upcoming friendly against MLS' Inter Miami, which is currently scheduled for Feb. 1 in Riyadh, is also unclear. The match, which is part of Miami's globe-trotting preseason tour, was anticipated to be the latest -- and perhaps one of, if not the, last -- meetings between Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Al-Nassr's China matches are not the first friendlies to be suddenly canceled or postponed in recent months. Miami was originally due to travel to China for post-season friendlies in November, but the tour was canceled after promoters NSN pulled out citing "unforeseen circumstances."
