Kalidou Koulibaly: Al-Hilal coach confesses injury ‘very strange’

Al-Hilal coach Simone Inzaghi has given further updates of the injury suffered by Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly, terming it as ‘very strange’.

Koulibaly was reportedly injured during a training session, and later consulted a specialist in Spain to assess his thigh injury.

«كوليبالي تعرّض لضربة في الركبة خلال الحصة الأخيرة قبل مباراة السد، والجهاز الطبي يعمل بشكل مستمر وعلى مدار الساعة لإيجاد حل لهذه المشكلة. بصراحة، وبعد 30 عامًا في كرة القدم، لم يسبق لي أن شاهدت إصابة كهذه.»

إنزاقي، مدرب @Alhilal_FC، في المؤتمر الصحفي بعد مواجهة #الهلال_ضمك 🎙️ pic.twitter.com/rfKwNw9JTC

— رياضة ثمانية (@thmanyahsports) April 28, 2026

After Al-Hilal’s Saudi Pro League 1-0 victory against Damac FC on Tuesday, Inzaghi gave more news of Koulibaly, who is suffering from a worrying injury.

‘I’ve never seen such an injury’

“Thirty years of experience in football, and I’ve never seen an injury comparable to Koulibaly’s. It’s very strange,” he told reporters after the win against Damac FC.

“A minor collision between Kalidou Koulibaly and his teammate during training caused a subcutaneous hematoma in the affected area.”

Speaking ahead of the game, Inzaghi refused to give a timeline on when Koulibaly will return to action with now six matches remaining to conclude the season.

“We have two injured players, Malcom and Koulibaly. Malcom is back and naturally ready, while Koulibaly suffered a thigh contusion, which caused a hematoma,” he said.

“We are monitoring his condition daily, and his return will depend on his response to treatment over the next few days. I don’t know when Kalidou Koulibaly will return. He is not able to run at the moment.”

The 34-year-old, who has already gained 103 caps and two AFCON titles with the Lions of Teranga, believes the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by sixteen cities—eleven in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada, could be his last in Senegal colours.