SEOUL — Cristiano Ronaldo has been rested for Al-Nassr’s upcoming AFC Champions League fixture in Uzbekistan. The decision comes just a week after the club’s previous continental match was postponed and amid mounting concerns that ongoing security issues in Saudi Arabia could disrupt Asia’s premier soccer tournaments. Fresh off a hat trick in the Saudi Pro League that brought his career tally to 985 goals, Ronaldo was left off the traveling roster by manager Ange Postecoglou for Monday’s match against Pakhtakor in Tashkent. Postecoglou, the former Tottenham Hotspur and Australia national team boss, explained at a press conference in Uzbekistan that he chose to rest Ronaldo alongside Kingsley Coman and Mohamed Simakan “given the pressure of matches and the amount of travel involved.” Al-Nassr is chasing its first-ever Asian title but has stumbled out of the gate, sitting ninth in the western zone group as the lowest-ranked among the Saudi league’s five representatives in the 32-team tournament. The continental championship is split into two 16-team regions — east and west — with the top eight in each group advancing to the knockout stage. “Despite the difficult start, the preparation conditions and the lack of complete readiness at the beginning of the season, we have now reached an excellent stage,” Postecoglou said. Ronaldo also sat out last week when Al-Wasl of the United Arab Emirates declined to travel to Riyadh for a Champions League clash, forcing the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to postpone the fixture. Al-Nassr’s home match on Oct. 12 was also delayed by an hour following reports of missile attacks launched by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Elsewhere in the competition, two-time defending Asian champions Al-Ahli sit third in their group ahead of a trip to Qatar to face Al-Sadd. Al-Ahli suffered a heavy 6-1 home defeat on Friday, though the Jeddah club expects to feature English striker Ivan Toney. Toney, who has netted 13 league goals this campaign, recently flew back to London to plead not guilty to an assault charge. Meanwhile, fellow England forward Ollie Watkins found the net as Al-Hilal captured its fifth consecutive league victory to climb to the top of the Saudi Pro League table. The four-time Asian champions are set to host Shabab Al-Ahli of the UAE. While domestic fixtures proceed, major questions linger over the upcoming Asian Cup scheduled to kick off in Saudi Arabia on Jan. 7, given the recurring Houthi missile strikes. Japan Football Association President Tsuneyasu Miyamoto recently voiced doubts regarding the tournament’s viability. “Based on what I’ve learned from the news, the situation is still unsafe, so at this point, I don’t think it would be easy to hold the [Asian] Cup there,” Miyamoto stated at an AFC Congress last month.