Cristiano Ronaldo will now be part of Al Nassr's squad for their upcoming game as situation in Saudi Arabia and its neighbours continues to come with security risks

Cristiano Ronaldo will not be involved in Al Nassr's AFC Champions League clash in Uzbekistan amid security concerns in and around Saudi Arabia.

The situation in the Middle East could continue to impact Asia's top tournaments with Ronaldo also missing from Monday's match against Pakhtakor in Tashkent.

Ange Postecoglou, the former Tottenham boss who is now in charge at Al Nassr, claimed that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner, Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan were not involved "given the pressure of matches and the amount of travel involved."

Ronaldo was also rested last week when Al-Wasl of the United Arab Emirates declined to travel to Riyadh for a Champions League game, which forced its postponement. Al Nassr's previous home game in the tournament in October had been delayed by an hour after reports of missile attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

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Al Nassr have never won the continental title and have made a slow start, sitting ninth in the western zone group, the lowest-ranked of the Saudi league's five representatives in the 32-team tournament. They would need to finish in the top eight to advance into the knockouts.

"Despite the difficult start, the preparation conditions, and the lack of complete readiness at the beginning of the season, we have now reached an excellent stage," Postecoglou said.

Ronaldo scored a hat trick in a Saudi Pro League game last week as he closes in on his desired 1000 goals - his career total for club and country now stands at 985.

However his former boss Erik ten Hag, who was in charge at Manchester United when Ronaldo had his contract terminated following a fiery public interview, has claimed that the Portugal star hasn't been a top performer since 2018, when his Real Madrid stint came to an end.

"He is, of course, a tremendous player, one of the greats of all-time," Ten Hag told ESPN in the Netherlands. "But that is also the reality; over the last seven, eight years, he can simply no longer deliver. From Juventus onwards, it's simply over. And that is actually the great gift of Real Madrid – they always know when to say goodbye to players at the right moment."