Frenchman Mohamed Simakan, defender of Al-Nassr first football team, joined the team's preparations for the new sports season on Wednesday, after missing the start of the preparation period due to personal reasons, according to what was revealed to Al-Riyadiya by private sources. The same sources explained that Simakan participated in the first training session on Wednesday at Dar Al-Nassr Stadium, after overcoming the circumstances that kept him away from last week's training, to begin his preparatory program under the supervision of Australian Ange Postecoglou, the new team coach. Al-Nassr resumed its training in Riyadh after the end of the short camp it organized in Abha that lasted two days, as part of the first phase of preparations, with the delegation set to depart to Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, on July 25 to complete the external preparatory program. The capital team began its preparations in the absence of a number of its international players, after granting them additional leave for their participation with their national teams in the 2026 World Cup, currently underway in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The list of absentees includes Nawaf Al-Aqidi, Abdul Ilah Al-Omari, Nawaf Boushal, Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Ayman Yahya, Abdullah Al-Hamdan, in addition to Senegalese Sadio Mane, and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo and Joao Felix. The international players are expected to join the team's training gradually after the end of their rest periods. Al-Nassr launches the new season under the leadership of Postecoglou, who took over the technical task replacing Portuguese Jorge Jesus, after the team clinched the Saudi Roshn League title last season. Al-Nassr faces four competitions during the upcoming season: the Saudi Roshn League, the King's Cup, the Saudi Super Cup, and the AFC Champions League Elite.