Portuguese superstar left off the roster by coach Ange Postecoglou for Monday’s match against Pakhtakor in Tashkent

Cristiano Ronaldo has been rested for Al-Nassr’s AFC Champions League trip to Uzbekistan, a week after the club’s previous game in the competition was postponed, and amid concern that the security situation in Saudi Arabia would continue to affect Asia’s top football tournaments.

Ronaldo, who scored a hat-trick in a 5–3 win over Al-Kholood in the Saudi Pro League last week to reach 985 career goals, was left off the roster by coach Ange Postecoglou for Monday’s match against Pakhtakor in Tashkent.

Postecoglou, a former head coach of Tottenham Hotspur and of Australia, told a news conference in Uzbekistan he had rested Ronaldo, Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan “given the pressure of matches and the amount of travel involved”.

Al-Nassr, aiming for a first Asian title, have made a slow start and are ninth in the western-zone group – the lowest-ranked of the Saudi league’s five representatives in the 32-team tournament.

The continental championship is split into two groups of 16 – east and west – with the top eight in each advancing to the knockout stage.

“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 added.