Ronaldo misses latest showdown vs. Messi through injury

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An untimely injury to Cristiano Ronaldo has prevented fans from seeing one last showdown between the Portuguese icon and long-standing rival Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo is set to miss Al-Nassr's friendly against Messi's Inter Miami on Thursday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, due to a calf issue, manager Luis Castro told reporters.

Messi's former teammate Neymar sat out Al-Hilal's exhibition match against the Major League Soccer side on Monday through injury.

"Cristiano is in the final part of his recovery to join the group," Castro said, according to ESPN. "We expect that he can begin to work with the team in the next few days. He will be an element that will be absent from the game."

Inter Miami launched a whirlwind global tour earlier in January, with stops in Hong Kong and Japan still to come. But the crown jewels of the club's preseason plans were the matches in Saudi Arabia, where Messi is a tourism ambassador.

Messi and Ronaldo last played each other in January 2023 when the Argentine was still with Paris Saint-Germain. Ronaldo scored twice as part of an all-star Riyadh XI in the 5-4 win over PSG. Both players were substituted after 60 minutes.