Al-Faraj out of World Cup

Doha, The Gulf Observer: Saudi Arabia’s Coach Herve Renard has allowed midfielder Salman Al-Faraj, who is also the team’s captain, to leave the camp of the Qatar 2022 World Cup for treatment.

Renard’s decision came based on the medical report which confirmed that the Saudi player will not be able to continue playing in the upcoming World Cup’s matches as he needs a treatment program.

The medical examinations conducted for the team captain revealed an injury to his leg bone. He had suffered a severe injury during Saudi Arabia’s first and historic World Cup match against Argentina.

Saudi Arabia’s coach had stressed earlier that the absence of Al-Faraj from the Green Falcons squad list in the Poland match was equivalent to the absence of Neymar from Brazil and Sadio Mané from Senegal.

Saudi defender Yasser Al-Shahrani will also be absent from participating in the upcoming national team matches, as he was flown off to Riyadh for an emergency surgery on Wednesday after suffering a horrific injury during the last minutes of the FIFA World Cup game against Argentina.Al-Shahrani sustained serious injuries after colliding with Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais during their historic 2-1 win over Argentina on Tuesday.

He had reportedly suffered a fractured jaw, broken left facial bones, teeth damage, and internal bleeding.

Next Wednesday will witness Saudi Arabia play against Mexico, while Argentina will face its counterpart Poland, as part of the final group matches.

The Saudi national team has 3 points, equal to Argentina, behind Poland, who leads Group C with 4 points. Mexico comes fourth with one point.