2 days ago
12
Canada & Bayern star
©IMAGO
Alphonso Davies will be out for the foreseeable future. As Bayern Munich announced on Friday, Davies suffered a muscle injury and will be out for several weeks. The announcement came just hours after Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany voiced optimism that the 25-year-old won’t be out for long. “I am hopeful,” Kompany said. But then he added: “The scan will show how long he truly will be out for.”
The diagnosis then arrived on Friday afternoon. “Alphonso suffered a muscle injury in his left hamstring during Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain, as confirmed by an examination by the FC Bayern medical unit,” a short statement on Bayern’s homepage read. “The Canada international will therefore be out of action for several weeks.”
Meanwhile, Canada Soccer also responded with a statement. "Our focus is on supporting his recovery and providing every available resource, including specialized soft tissue expertise, to give him the best possible pathway back to full fitness ahead of the FIFA World Cup.” Davies is now set to miss Bayern’s final two Bundesliga games and the DFB Pokal final on May 23 against last year’s winners VfB Stuttgart.
World Cup in doubt for Davies – Could Canada replace him?
Ever since returning from his cruciate ligament tear in October, Davies has struggled with smaller injuries this season. Davies suffered a torn muscle fiber injury that sidelined him for two games with Bayern Munich in February and March. He then missed another three games for Bayern Munich with a hamstring injury in March (overview). During that stretch, Davies also had to sit out Canada’s international friendlies against Iceland (2-2) and Tunisia (0-0). Davies’ recent injury casts doubt on whether the captain will be fully fit for his country when the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off on June 11.
Canada will start the tournament on June 12 against Bosnia in Toronto, then play its final two group-stage matches in Vancouver against Qatar on June 17 and Switzerland on June 24. Davies will be crucial for Jesse Marsch’s team. Indeed, replacing the captain would be very much impossible. Indeed, Davies isn’t the only star player to just come back from injury, either. Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal), Stephen Eustaquio (LAFC), and Alistair Johnston (Celtic) have only just returned to fitness.
Looking at Transfermarkt’s squad-building tool, replacing Davies appears to be almost impossible. When fit, Davies is one of the world’s best left-backs and has also played further up the field for Canada. With a market value of €45m, Davies is the most valuable player in the Canadian men’s national team squad. The next most valuable left-back among Canadian-eligible players is Vancouver Whitecaps’ Sam Adekugbe. Not only is Adekugbe injury-prone himself, but his market value of just €800,000 also highlights a significant drop-off in quality. In other words, Canada wouldn’t be able to replace Davies, the wing-back is his country’s biggest hope at the tournament, and losing him would be devastating.
