Al Hilal have confirmed striker Aleksandar Mitrovic will be out of action for six weeks because of the hamstring injury he sustained during the 4-3 win at Al Shabab in the Roshn Saudi League on Saturday.
The Serbian striker, who netted twice before the injury to take his league tally to 22 goals from 22 games, was substituted in the first half after sharply pulling up while running with the ball.
In a media statement issued on Monday night, Al Hilal said: “Following medical tests that Aleksandar Mitrovic underwent, he has been diagnosed with a hamstring muscle injury and he will be going through a treatment and rehab programme for six weeks.”
Speaking on Saturday night at the post-match press conference after his side defeated Al Shabab to keep a 12-point lead at the top of the RSL, manager Jorge Jesus described the No.9’s injury as “heavy”.
“A player like Mitrovic, we don’t have an equal substitute for him, even though in other positions we might have," the Portuguese tactician said. "Mitrovic played for his national team [during this month's international break] and was in Russia, with long hours for flights and arrived two days before the game.
"There is always a risk for the big teams that play for all the competitions like us. We are in different competitions at the moment and very close to achieving the league and in two semi-finals, so there is a price we pay for success. All the big teams pay such a price for success – we are not a team that plays every seven or eight days.”
Al Hilal, unbeaten this season in the RSL, welcome Al Okhdood to Kingdom Arena on Tuesday before travelling to Dammam to take on Al Khaleej on Friday.
