It’s beginning to look like a matter of when, not if, Alphonso Davies suits up for Canada at the World Cup.
Amid injury concerns for the superstar Canadian left-back, head coach Jesse Marsch told reporters Monday that he expects Davies to play for Canada at some point during the upcoming World Cup, but that he won’t be ready for the opener on June 12 against Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Canadian men’s national team is set to kick off its training camp in Charlotte, N.C., and while Davies was named to the 32-man selection for the camp, Marsch said that he’ll instead join the team on May 31 in Edmonton.
According to Marsch, the goal is to put Davies in a position to succeed physically and contribute in matches once the tournament begins.
Davies has dealt with a bevy of injuries while playing for club team Bayern Munich this season. His latest issue is a hamstring injury, suffered in a Champions League semifinal game against Paris Saint-Germain earlier in May.
He missed a pair of March friendlies against Iceland and Tunisia in Toronto with a hamstring strain, returned to play for Bayern, and was sidelined again on May 8 with another injury to the same area.
Marsch also provided updates to a few other players dealing with injuries.
Striker Promise David, who has been sidelined since late February after undergoing hip surgery, is on track to be ready for the June 12 opener and is with the team in Charlotte.
Toronto FC right-back Richie Laryea, nursing a thigh injury suffered in late April, is “ready for full training,” Middlesbrough centre-back Alfie Jones is making “incredible progress” with his ankle injury, and Norwich winger Ali Ahmed is “trending in a good way” after suffering a leg injury in his club’s season finale against Hull City in early May.
Canada’s roster for the upcoming World Cup will be revealed on Friday, at the end of the team’s camp in Charlotte.
