Soccer
Alphonso Davies says he's unlikely to play in Canada's World Cup opener
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It's no shock to anyone paying attention, but Alphonso Davies confirmed the news that Canada fans did not want to hear.
Davies is unlikely to play on June 12 against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto.
The Canada captain has battled injuries since tearing his ACL in a CONCACAF Nations League match in March 2025, and while the knee as since fully healed, the fallout from that injury has hampered his ability to consistently play since returning in December. Davies has suffered a variety of muscle injuries with Bayern Munich over the past six months, with the latest being a hamstring strain that occurred during Bayern's final Champions League match of the season on May 6.
Since then, the 25-year-old has been in a race to get fit for the World Cup, which is the first to be played in Canada.
However, the timeline may prove too tight for Davies — by far Canada's highest profile player — to be ready for his nation's opening match next week.
“You can't really rush these injuries. It already happened three times in a row now,” the left back said in a now-deleted clip from The Sid Seixeiro Show. “So, you know, after a big ACL injury, I think those are the kind of things you can't really rush.
“Yeah, of course, I want to play in the World Cup. Of course, I want to play in front of the country and my family, friends, and help the team as much as I can. But yet again, there's some things as a footballer you have to realize, especially injuries that happen back-to-back-to-back, you can't really rush them."
Davies' statement on The Sid Seixeiro Show was from a pre-recorded interview that was briefly posted to social media earlier this week, and the Bayern star clarified on Wednesday that nothing is set in stone.
"Anything is possible in life," Davies told reporters after participating in Canada's training session in Montreal. "For me, it all depends on how the recovery is going, how these next few days, this week, leading up to the game [against Bosnia-Herzegovina] goes."
The good thing for Canada is that the team has found a way to succeed without Davies, having rung off seven wins, seven draws and just a single loss in the 15 games played since the speedster last donned the Maple Leaf. Davies was present for the Canadians' most recent victory, a 2-0 win over Uzbekistan in stormy Edmonton on Monday, and he continues to train with the side in Montreal ahead of their final pre-World Cup friendly against Ireland on Friday.
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