Alphonso Davies is one of the most important players on the Canadian national team. No wonder the Canadians included him in their World Cup roster despite his injury. In the end, though, that decision didn’t really pay off.
Davies missed all three group stage matches—and had also been unable to participate in team training during the lead-up to the tournament. His coach, Jesse Marsch, did put him on the bench for two games as a tactical move, but he didn’t see any playing time. And it wouldn’t have been responsible to do so anyway.
Davies then made his comeback in the Round of 32, coming on as a substitute. That’s why many expected him to get more playing time in the Round of 16. But in the 0–3 loss to Morocco, the left-footed player once again didn’t play at all.
Davies Talks About the Setback
After the game, Coach Marsch explained that the Bayern star had suffered a setback. Naturally, this immediately caused concern among Bayern fans.
“Alphonso wasn’t feeling quite right during training yesterday, so we did an MRI. And the results were clear. The good news was that there wasn’t an actual injury, but his thigh muscle didn’t feel right. So we hoped he’d wake up today feeling better, but that wasn’t the case. That’s why we wanted to be cautious and make sure we didn’t take any risks,” said the coach.
Thanks to close communication between the Canadian Soccer Association’s medical staff and FC Bayern, it was clear from the start that Bayern’s medical team would be kept informed of every step. The decision not to play Davies was therefore also made in consultation with Bayern.
Davies himself did mention a minor injury after the game. „I tried to see how it would go—maybe I could have come on, but a thigh injury like that doesn’t just disappear as if by magic in 24 hours. I did my sprints and felt something with every step,“ explained the Bayern star.
For now, he’s heading off on vacation, and then his focus will be on slowly regaining his peak fitness so he can play at the highest level for FC Bayern in the new season.