Darwin Nunez's Saudi spell takes sour turn as he's banned despite travelling

Nunez joined the Saudi Pro League club in a £46million deal last summer and was expected to make his return to the first team on Monday. Since his Anfield exit, the Uruguayan has faced significant uncertainty after being unregistered by Al-Hilal in February, following Karim Benzema's arrival.

This meant that Nunez was unable to participate in domestic fixtures and had been limited to just two appearances in the AFC Champions League. At the time, manager Simone Inzaghi justified this decision by claiming Benzema was more crucial to his plans than Nunez.

He said, "The decision was difficult, but that's the job of a coach. He makes many decisions every day, even in every training session.

"Nunez and Pablo Mari are good players. I want them in all competitions, but we know the restrictions on registering foreign players."

To add further insult to injury, the Asian Football Confederation suspended the AFC Champions League due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. This pushed the forward's return to the pitch further out of his sight, from March to April 13.

After travelling with the entire squad to face Al-Sadd, Al-Hilal were informed just before the game that Nunez had been booked against Al-Whada on February 16 and was therefore suspended.

Inzaghi was forced to omit Nunez from the squad, meaning he didn't even make the bench. Al-Hilal drew 3-3 with Al-Sadd and were then knocked out on penalties, meaning the Uruguayan will not play for the team again this season.

This means it has been 56 days since Nunez last took to the pitch for a competitive club game. However, he was selected for Uruguay's national squad for friendlies against England and Algeria earlier in March.

During this international break, Nunez managed just 24 minutes of action. Across the 2025/26 campaign, he has 24 appearances for Al-Hilal, scoring nine goals and assisting five times in over 1,600 minutes of play.

With the World Cup on the horizon, the 26-year-old will rely on training sessions and solo work to prepare for the major tournament.