QSL side Al Arabi has confirmed that they will be without Khalid Nawaf for six months. The defender underwent an operation on his cruciate ligament on Wednesday afternoon at Aspeter Hospital. Nawaf will now undergo at least six months of rehabilitation, before joining back with his team mates.

In other injury news, Al Arabi has also confirmed that midfielder Ali Jasemi will be out for two weeks after suffering a knock to his knee. Jasemi adds to a growing list of players who will be unavailable for Arabi ahead of their big top four clash with Al Sadd on Sunday evening.

Gianfranco Zola’s side will also be without striker Youssef Ahmed and defender Adel Lami, who will be missing the match through suspension. Arabi are currently in sixth place in the QSL standings, and know that a victory over Al Sadd could see them move back into the top four places in the league come the end of Sunday evening.