After Alphonso Davies suffers an injury while playing for Canada, the blame game starts.

On Saturday,March 23,2024, in Frisco,Texas,Canada forward Alphonso Davies,19,jogs up field following a shot during the second half of a CONCACAF Nations League Play-In soccer match against Trinidad and Tobago. Brazilian Cortez/AP/The Canadian Press

 

Canada’s CONCACAF Nations League victory over the United States, which was supposed to bolster morale, has turned into a nightmare.

Alphonso Davies,the captain of Canada, tore his anterior cruciate ligament during Sunday’s 2-1 victory over the Americans in the third-place match at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood,California,according to a statement made by Bayern Munich on Wednesday. Then Davies’ agent added insult to injury by claiming that Canada forced the Edmonton-based 24-year-old to start against the United States even though he wasn’t fully fit.

After appearing to fall awkwardly while vying for the ball in the Canadian penalty box,Davies left the game in the 12th minute,citing his knee.

 

On Wednesday,Davies was supposed to have surgery.

About 15 months before the 2026 World Cup,which Canada is co-hosting, begins,the injury occurs.Months of arduous work await him in the interim,but if everything goes according to plan, he should return in time to lead the 31st-ranked Canadian men.

In an interview with OneSoccer,agent Nick Huoseh stated,Alphonso was not 100 percent after the Mexico game (last Thursday),and it was planned that he was not going to start against the U.S.A.

It was anticipated that he wouldn’t be in the starting eleven on Saturday night. As captain,I believe the coach put pressure on him to start the game. In certain situations,Alphonso is not the type of man to refuse. After he finished playing,this is what transpired.

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“Canada Soccer needs to manage these players more effectively.”

Davies was “down and obviously very disappointed about this injury,”according to Huoseh.

The chief communications and content officer for Canada Soccer,Paulo Senra,didn’t agree with the agent’s perspective.

Senra issued a brief statement saying, “We want to express our full support for our men’s national team captain, Alphonso Davies, as he recovers from this unfortunate injury.” “Phonzie’s strength and fortitude are commensurate with his exceptional talent, and we all look forward to helping him recover completely.”

“Player safety and wellbeing have always been the top priorities for Canada Soccer’s coaches and skilled medical staff,who are true professionals. Anything to the contrary is false.

When the Bayern Munich star fullback went down early in the U.S. game,Canada coach Jesse Marsch stated on Monday that he was feeling “a little bit spooked because it was his knee and it moved in a certain way.”

Davies had been “nursing a little bit of an injury,”according to Marsch,and had passed a fitness test prior to the game.

Marsch said that he most likely would have played Richie Laryea at left back if the Toronto FC fullback/wingback,who has been out due to a hamstring ailment, had been available.

Davies was playing for Canada for the 58th time.

Bayern stated on its official website that Davies will be out for “several months” and “for a lengthy period” following surgery to fix his right knee, but it did not specify when he would be ready to return.

The Canadian Shield tournament, a four-nation competition in Toronto,will be Canada’s next event in early June. Given Bayern’s involvement in the FIFA Club World Cup,Davies was not anticipated to play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup,which takes place later in June.

After returning from playing both legs of France’s UEFA Nations League quarterfinal victory over Croatia,Bayern announced that center defender Dayot Upamecano will be out for several weeks due to a left knee injury.

Upamecano’s left knee was diagnosed with loose bodies,which would likely keep him out of commission for a few weeks.

Max Eberl,the sport board member at Bayern, stated on Wednesday that “there is unfortunately always a danger that players come back injured during international breaks,and this time it has hit us especially hard.” FC Bayern is greatly impacted by the absences of Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies.

“On his path to recovery,Phonzy will receive all the assistance he requires.” In the upcoming weeks,we’ll also be closely monitoring Upa, and we anticipate his availability soon. We will make up for these absences since we have a good squad. We will now become even more intimate. The quality is there so we can keep working toward our lofty objectives.

But Canada won’t have the same quality.