Alphonso Davies has been diagnosed with a thigh injury that could keep him out as long as six weeks according to reports from German outlet Bild.
That time frame would put Davies’ return roughly around the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal and final in Las Vegas, in the middle of June.
In a game on Saturday, the 22-year-old from Edmonton pulled up after accelerating past Mainz fullback Silvan Widmer, wasting no time signalling to the Bayern bench that he had a problem.
The German club said Sunday that Davies “sustained a muscle bundle injury” in the back of his left thigh during the 3-1 loss at Mainz in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Davies left the pitch in the ninth minute.
The Canadian men’s national team will have its fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.
The 47th-ranked Canadian men face No. 58 Panama on June 14 in Las Vegas in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal, with the winner facing either the 13th-ranked U.S. or No. 15 Mexico for the title. The Canadians then start play in the Gold Cup with a game June 27 at Toronto’s BMO Field against a qualifier before facing Guadeloupe and Cuba in Houston.
Davies has had his share of injury issues lately.
He suffered a hamstring injury in early November ahead of the World Cup but made it back in time to play at the soccer showcase in Qatar. In October, he suffered a cranial bruise in a Bundesliga match after taking an accidental boot to the face from Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham.
The speedy fullback was diagnosed with COVID in December 2021 and did not return until early April last year after developing symptoms of myocarditis, a mild heart condition.
Davies has won 39 caps for Canada with 13 goals and 16 assists.
—with files from The Associated Press