Saud Abdulhamid is finally edging towards a return after a long injury lay-off. The past few hours brought the first positive sign over the fitness of the Saudi full-back, who missed his country's "Gulf Cup 27" campaign and is now waiting to reclaim his place at France's Lens.
Match conditions greeted Saud once more as he featured for 30 minutes in Lens's 2-0 friendly win over Belgium's Standard Liège. The coaching staff used the fixture to check on his condition and hand him a practical test after a long spell away.
His problems began with a heavy bruise picked up in Lens training back in August. A blood clot then prolonged the absence, forcing the player into a rehabilitation programme and ruling him out of the Saudi national team's "Gulf Cup 27" camp.
Read also: Respect for Messi and the humiliation of Ronaldo: why did the ending differ?
The outing against Standard Liège gave the staff a far better chance to gauge his condition. Lens coach Yannick Cahuzac confirmed the match marked the return of several players who had been out for long periods, Saud among them, with the full-back handed half an hour after recovering from injury.
His comeback could hardly be better timed. Lens face Olympique Lyon on 9 October in the French league, then meet Sporting Lisbon on the 13th of the same month in the Champions League, and those two fixtures loom as the real test of Saud's readiness.
Injury halted a promising start to his Lens career. Now Saud Abdulhamid has the chance to reclaim his place bit by bit, and his return to action, friendly or not, is a crucial step on the road back. The games ahead will decide whether the Saudi full-back can rediscover his rhythm quickly and force his way back into the plans of Lens and the national team.