FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Saudi Pro League - Al Ahli v Al Hilal - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - October 5, 2024 Al Hilal's Ruben Neves reacts REUTERS/Stringer/File photo
(Reuters) - Portugal midfielder Ruben Neves has been ruled out until January after undergoing surgery on a knee injury, his Saudi Pro League club Al-Hilal announced on Friday.
The 27-year-old travelled to Finland for an operation on his patellar tendon and will miss Portugal's Nations League matches against Poland and Croatia on Nov. 15 and 18 respectively.
The injury also means Neves will not be available for Al-Hilal's upcoming Asian Champions League Elite matches against Qatari duo Al-Sadd on Nov. 26 and Al Gharafa a week later plus at least three domestic league matches.
Neves moved to Saudi Arabia from Wolverhampton Wanderers in June last year and has played 59 times for the Riyadh-based club, helping Al-Hilal to the Saudi Pro League title last season.
Al-Hilal currently lead the Saudi Pro League and are also top of the west Asian section of the Asian Champions League Elite's league phase.
(Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
