Gabriel Martinelli has largely made a strong start to life with Al-Hilal, but he remains absent from Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad after a recent injury.
Gabriel Martinelli left Arsenal for Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal SFC in the summer transfer window, and he went on to star in his new team’s early fixtures of the new campaign.
Martinelli scored six goals in his first eight games for Al-Hilal, including a hat-trick against Al-Taawoun. But he then suffered a setback, picking up a muscle injury ruling him out for an estimated 10-15 days.
Over two weeks later, the 25-year-old still hasn’t made his comeback, and he’s been left out of Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad for the November international break.
The good news is that Martinelli is expected to be fit again following the break, so he should be available for Al-Hilal’s AFC Champions League fixture away to Neftchi Fergana on November 23rd.
Yet the winger’s injury makes it unclear whether or not he’s still in Ancelotti’s thinking for Brazil call-ups.
Martinelli was fit and snubbed for the September-October break, but Ancelotti was clearly using that group of games to give chances to young players with minimal experience.
The expectation was that Ancelotti would return to a more experienced squad in November, and he did, but Martinelli’s injury meant he couldn’t be included even if Ancelotti wanted him. Whether he did intend to call the former Gunner up is a mystery.
So while Martinelli made a very fast start to life with Al-Hilal, this injury absence has certainly been a setback, and he’ll return with a point to prove.
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