Ronaldo injured; status for Messi match unknown

Cristiano Ronaldo issued a public apology after he suffered an injury that contributed to Al Nassr‘s postponement of their preseason tour of China, while his fitness status ahead of a showdown with Lionel Messi and Inter Miami on Feb. 1 is unknown.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner did not specify of the extent of the calf injury that ruled him out of fixtures against Shanghai Shenhua on Wednesday and Zhejiang on Sunday.

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“Well, guys, for me, today’s a sad day. Because I want to say sorry to the Chinese fans, especially in Shenzhen. Because as you know, in football, some things you cannot control,” Ronaldo told a news conference.

“As you know, I played 22 years in football and I’m the player who doesn’t have too many injuries. So I’m really sad, because Al Nassr and myself, we come here to China to enjoy the tour.

“I [have come] to China since 2003, 2004. So I feel [at] home here. I feel this is my second home not only because of the welcome of the Chinese people, but the culture that you have from me. I felt that I’m always [welcome], especially here in that country. So as you can see, I feel sad. I know you are sad, too, especially the people who love Cristiano.

“But we have to see this in a good way. When I say in a good way, I mean, we [have] not canceled the game. We’re going to postpone the game. We want to be back here to your country. We will be back.”

Al Nassr looked to take advantage of the Saudi Pro League‘s midseason break to play fixtures against the Chinese teams before a match against Miami in Riyadh, where two of the game’s greatest-ever players are due to face off for perhaps the final time in their respective careers.

“We came here in [Shenzhen] with a lot of respect for Chinese football fans and specifically for the fans of Ronaldo,” Al Nassr said in a statement.

“Taking this into consideration, in addition to the tight relationship between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and China, we, Al Nassr, are willing to complete our training camp as planned in Shenzhen, a city that has warmly welcomed us and shown so much love for us and our Captain.

“Furthermore, we have agreed with the organizer and the promotor to schedule a new match the soonest.

“Al Nassr Club has always shown and proved its unconditional commitment with this event and has travelled with its full squad including Cristiano Ronaldo to participate in this tour.”

Chinese fans at Al Nassr’s hotel in Shenzhen were angered by the postponement of Saudi club’s friendly match against Shanghai Shenhua less than 24 hours before kick-off.

The Al Nassr squad, including Ronaldo, Marcelo Brozovic, Otavio, David Ospina, Aymeric Laporte, Alex Telles and Anderson Talisca are all in Shenzhen, while Sadio Mané and Seko Fofana are in Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Organisers promised that fans in China will be refunded for match tickets, flights and hotels in full.

In 2016, a match between Manchester United and Manchester City was called off six hours before kick-off over concerns for the quality of the pitch at the Beijing National Stadium.

In November, Inter Miami’s tour to mainland China was cancelled 17 days after announcement by the promoter.

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report