Al-Hilal Faces Major Absences Ahead of Al-Gharafa Clash

Al-Hilal launch their AFC Champions League Elite campaign under a cloud. The Kingdom Arena is ready, the stakes are high, but the squad is badly bruised before a ball is kicked.

Five big names are out for the opening group-stage clash against Qatar’s Al-Gharafa, stripping “The Leader” of experience, balance and star power across the pitch. For a club that lives on continental ambition, it is a brutal way to start.

A worrying absentee list

Saudi newspaper Al-Maidan Al-Riyadi confirmed the worst: Theo Hernandez, Ali Lajami, Hamad Al-Yami, Salem Al-Dawsari and Ollie Watkins will all miss the game.

Each name removes a different weapon. Each one reshapes the coach’s plan.

Ollie Watkins is the latest and perhaps most painful addition to the treatment room. The England forward suffered an injury in recent training, ruling him out of both domestic and Asian fixtures. No one inside the club can yet circle a date on the calendar for his return.

Salem Al-Dawsari, the captain and emotional heartbeat of the attack, will also watch from the stands. When Al-Hilal need a moment of inspiration on nights like these, they usually look for his number. This time, that option is gone.

New signing Theo Hernandez, brought in to add thrust and authority on the flank, is unavailable as well. Defender Ali Lajami and full-back Hamad Al-Yami complete a list that cuts into the back line and wide areas, forcing a rethink in almost every phase of play.

For a team chasing a “perfect start” to drive an early charge toward the continental crown, this is not how the script was supposed to read.

Defiance at Kingdom Arena

Inside the dressing room, the mood cannot afford to mirror the injury report. Al-Hilal’s technical staff are treating this opener as a statement game, not an excuse.

The message is simple: win anyway.

Three points in Riyadh would do more than settle early nerves. It would send a sharp warning across Asia that even a depleted Al-Hilal remain dangerous, still equipped to hunt down the continent’s biggest prize.

Al-Gharafa, though, are not coming to make up the numbers. The Qatari side arrive in the Saudi capital with confidence and clear intent, eyeing the disruption of a giant still adjusting to its absences. For them, this is an opportunity to shock the group on night one.

That turns the match into a pure examination of Al-Hilal’s depth and mentality. Can the supporting cast shoulder the weight usually carried by stars like Salem Al-Dawsari and Watkins? Can the reshuffled back line hold firm without Hernandez, Lajami and Al-Yami?

The answers will not just shape one result. They may reveal how far this squad can really go in a season where the margin for error, at this level, is razor-thin.