Canada manager Jesse Marsch is confident captain Alphonso Davies will play in next month’s FIFA World Cup, but concedes that he might not be ready for the team’s opening match.
Speaking at Canada’s training camp in Charlotte, Marsch said that Davies is set to join the team in his hometown of Edmonton on May 31 ahead of a friendly with Uzbekistan. Davies, 25, incurred a hamstring injury during Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Paris Saint-Germain nearly three weeks ago. The initial recovery time given to Davies was four to five weeks.
Asked if he thinks Davies will play in the tournament, Marsch was positive, but he casted doubt on whether or not he’d be available for the team’s June 12 opener against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto.
“No, I don’t think he’ll be ready quite on June 12, but we’ll see,” Marsch said.
In other squad news, Marsch confirmed that Union SG forward Promise David would be on the final 26-man team and is trending towards being available for the Group B opener. A 24-year-old native of Brampton, Ont., David has been out of action since undergoing surgery on his hip in February. David has three goals in eight Canada appearances.
After the Bosnia and Herzegovina game in Toronto, Canada relocates to Vancouver for the final two games of the group stage. The team takes on Qatar on June 16 and meets Switzerland on June 24. Both games will be played at BC Place.
Canada is set to play in its third World Cup and second in a row. The CanMNT is yet to win a game at the tournament.
