Inter Miami are set to face Al Nassr in the Riyadh Season Cup on Thursday in preparation for the new Major League Soccer season. However, fans excited to see Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo lock horns for possibly the last time in their careers have been dealt a huge blow.
Sadly, while La Pulga is in the Saudi capital and ready to feature, the same cannot be said about the Portuguese icon. His Saudi Pro League side confirmed that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is yet to return from injury and will thus play no part in this Kingdom Arena battle.
The former Real Madrid icon, who turns 39 in less than a week, has been dealing with a calf issue. This resulted in the cancelation of Al-Alami's China tour as their biggest attraction would not have participated.
There was hope Ronaldo would recover in time to feature in this fixture but Al Nassr manager Luis Castro has ended that, revealing that their talisman is in the final stage of his recovery and, as a result, will sit out this friendly against the Herons.
"We will not see [Messi vs Ronaldo], Ronaldo is in the final part of his recovery to join the group," the Portuguese tactician stated, as per Goal.
"We hope that in the next few days you can start working with the team. He will be absent from the game."
The Saudi giants are focused on getting their top scorer back in shape before the league resumes in February. Al Nassr are second in the table but are seven points behind leaders Al Hilal, meaning Al-Alami have tremendous ground to overcome.
Ronaldo has 20 goals in 18 Saudi Pro League appearances and is the top scorer in the competition this season. As a result, Castro will need his countryman fit in time for their highly-anticipated showdown with Al Hilal on February 8, a fixture that could end Al Nassr's title aspirations or breathe life back into it.
Despite this, with Ronaldo turning 39 in February and Messi turning 37 a few months later, this likely would have been the Last Dance between two of the beautiful game's most iconic figures.
