Tractor appeals to competition organizers over Tuesday’s knockout match due to player injuries, COVID-19 cases in squad RIYADH: Uncertainty surrounds Al-Nassr’s second-round AFC Champions League clash against Tractor on Tuesday after the Iranian club announced that it was unable to field the required number of players. Tractor officials have recently written twice to the Asian Football Confederation to report a number of absences from the squad list submitted earlier this month. Forwards Mohammed Abbaszadeh and Ali Fathi are injured as is midfielder Mohammed Khorram. Peyman Babaei is suspended, Sayad Kokabi has terminated his contract, and two more players have tested positive for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), leaving the team looking very thin indeed. ad In the first communication with the AFC, Tractor asked that the game be postponed. In a second letter, there was a request to be allowed to register late replacements from the youth team. Club chief executive officer, Jamshid Nazmi, said that Tractor would do all it could to participate in the game, due to be held in Qatar. “On Thursday, I attended the meeting of the Supreme Sports Council and examined the problems and looked at solutions necessary for the team to be present in Qatar. “Although it is necessary for Tractor to replace the new members of the youth team even if the AFC does not agree with our request, we will go to Qatar under any circumstances to play in the match,” Nazmi added. However, the competition’s regulations state that “if a participating club fails to register a minimum of 18 participating players by the stipulated deadline, it shall be considered to have withdrawn from the competition prior to its commencement.” Clubs are allowed to call up replacements in the knockout stage, but the rules also state that this should be done no later than seven days before the game. Ads by optAd360 Tractor will be hoping that the organization shows some leniency given the COVID-19 pandemic, and a decision is expected soon. But the AFC has been ruthless in the past. In last year’s edition, Al-Hilal was hit by a COVID-19 outbreak and could not field a full squad in the final group game. Despite already having booked a place in the knockout stage the defending champions were forced to withdraw. Due to the pandemic, this year’s Round of 16 has been reduced from its usual two-legged format to a single elimination game. Al-Nassr, led by Brazilian coach Mano Menezes, topped a difficult group to progress to the second round and has won two out of three games so far in the current Saudi Professional League season. If the games goes ahead, Al-Nassr will be without star striker Abderrazak Hamdallah who is suspended along with Ali Lajami and Abdullah Madu. Al-Nassr is joined in the second round by Saudi Arabian rivals Al-Hilal who will also take on Iranian opposition in the form of Esteghlal, in Dubai. Elsewhere, Istiklol of Tajikistan play Iran’s Persepolis with Sharjah hosting Al-Wahda in an all-UAE affair. Ads by optAd360 Topics: AFC CHAMPIONS LEAGUE RELATED 94Abderrazak Hamdallah and Vincent Aboubakar named in Al-Nassr’s squad for AFC Champion League knockout stages SPORT Abderrazak Hamdallah and Vincent Aboubakar named in Al-Nassr’s squad for AFC Champion League knockout stages 1010AFC Champions League 2021 Western Region centralized matches, final to be held in Saudi Arabia SPORT AFC Champions League 2021 Western Region centralized matches, final to be held in Saudi Arabia Ronaldo back for Man United; PSG rests Messi Ronaldo back for Man United; PSG rests Messi Updated 10 September 2021 AP September 10, 2021 23:39 70 Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Ronaldo will definitely feature at Old Trafford Paris Saint-Germain fans will have to wait a while longer to see Lionel Messi in action again ad ENGLAND: Cristiano Ronaldo will make the first appearance in his second spell for Manchester United in the home match against Newcastle in the Premier League. United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Ronaldo will definitely feature at Old Trafford but didn’t confirm if it would be from the start. Tottenham leads on a maximum nine points as the league returns after the international break, and is away to Crystal Palace. Chelsea hosts Aston Villa and champion Manchester City is likely to be tested at Leicester. Arsenal and Norwich have both lost all three of their opening games heading into their meeting at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. Meanwhile in France, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) fans will have to wait a while longer to see Lionel Messi in action again. The Argentina star scored a hat trick in World Cup qualifying on Thursday but will be rested for Saturday’s game at home to promoted Clermont. PSG is also without veteran central defender Sergio Ramos as he continues his recovery for a calf injury and midfielder Marco Verratti, who is nursing a sore knee. Kylian Mbappe is expected to sit this one out after a minor calf injury on international duty with France. The other game sees Monaco seeking a morale-boosting win at home to Marseille. After finishing third last season, Monaco has won only once in four games so far and was knocked out in the Champions League playoffs. In Germany’s Bundesliga, Julian Nagelsmann left Leipzig at the end of last season to coach Bayern Munich, but he’s already back at his old club. Bayern visits a Leipzig team which has lost two of its first three Bundesliga games under American coach Jesse Marsch. Bayern is unbeaten so far under Nagelsmann and could field left back Alphonso Davies again after he recovered from an injury sustained with the Canadian national team. Borussia Dortmund has struggled in defense this season and faces a tricky game at Bayer Leverkusen. League leader Wolfsburg has three wins from three as it heads to promoted Greuther Fürth. Union Berlin plays Augsburg, Hoffenheim takes on Mainz and Freiburg plays Cologne. In Italy, Moise Kean is being readied to replace Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus. The 21-year-old forward showed off his potential with a two-goal performance for Italy against Lithuania on Wednesday. Now he could get his first action with Juventus after returning to the Bianconeri from spells at Everton and Paris Saint-Germain. Having earned only one point from its opening two matches, Juventus is desperate for a victory but faces a tough test at Napoli. Also, Atalanta hosts Fiorentina in what is usually a high-scoring match and Empoli looks to follow up its surprise win over Juventus when it faces promoted Venezia. Spain’s Mallorca club visits Athletic Bilbao with both sides looking to remain undefeated after four rounds. Mallorca, which earned promotion last season, has impressed with back-to-back wins over Alavés and Espanyol and has only conceded one goal so far. Bilbao held Barcelona 1-1 and won at Celta Vigo before the international break. Levante seeks its first victory when it hosts recently promoted Rayo Vallecano. Initially scheduled for Saturday, Sevilla vs. Barcelona, and Villarreal vs. Alavés, were both postponed to give rest time to players on international duty with South American nations.