Sadio Mane absence for Al Nassr explained

Al-Nassr head coach Jorge Jesus explained the absence of Senegal forward Sadio Mané during the Saudi Pro League fixture against Al-Qadsiah on Sunday.

In the match played at Prince Saud Bin Jalawi Stadium, the Lion of Teranga missed out and watched from the stands as Al Nassr went ahead to suffer a 3-1 defeat.

Sadio Mané couldn’t believe what he was watching…😖
pic.twitter.com/xI5WM9WXPH

— The Nassr Tribune™️ (@AlNassrTribune) May 3, 2026

Al Nassr went into the game aiming for their 17th consecutive league victory and thus extending their lead over second-place Al-Hilal to eight points. But to everyone’s surprise, Mané was not included in the matchday squad, despite being in the matchday squad.

Sadio has played the most matches

“I chose not to include Mané in the squad. Sadio has played the most matches and caught the flu upon returning from a team trip. We’ve already rested several players, including Cristiano Ronaldo,” Jesus said as quoted by Wiw Sport.

Jesus added: “We played around 50 matches and Al-Qadsiah played 30 matches, and this difference helped the opponent.

“This is our first loss in a while, and in some matches, we put pressure on ourselves with the absence of stars due to injuries, influenza, and other things. There is a lot of physical pressure, and yet despite all of that, we are still in the lead.”

Without Mane and facing a very solid team, the Yellow and Blue suffered their fourth league defeat of the season (3-1).

🚨 @Ali_alabdallh

Sadio Mane felt pain that prevented him from playing today. Here’s the moment he arrived and the way he walked…pic.twitter.com/TxTPyjhyGj

— The Nassr Tribune™️ (@AlNassrTribune) May 3, 2026

With three matchdays remaining, Al-Nassr (1st, 79 points) are putting themselves under dangerous pressure, while Al-Hilal (2nd, 74 points) can close the gap to two points with a win in their rescheduled match against Al-Khaleej on Tuesday, before the clash between the two teams on May 12th.

Mane is widely regarded as one of the best wingers of his generation and one of the greatest African players of all time.

Mané began his professional career with Ligue 2 club Metz at the age of 19, but he departed after a solitary season to join Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg in 2012 for a fee of €4 million, winning a league and cup domestic double in the 2013–14 season.

Later that summer, Mané transferred to English club Southampton for a club record fee of £11.8 million. There, he set a new Premier League record for the fastest hat-trick, scored in 176 seconds in a 6-1 win over Aston Villa in 2015.