Canada captain Alphonso Davies suffered a devastating ACL tear in his right knee during an international match against the United States, forcing the Bayern Munich star to undergo surgery and miss several months of action, the German club confirmed on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old fullback sustained the injury just 12 minutes into Canada's 2-1 victory over the United States in the Concacaf Nations League third-place match. Medical staff treated Davies on the pitch after he went down twice before he limped off. Bayern Munich announced that Davies will not return to action until the 2025-26 season.
"Unfortunately, during international breaks there's always the risk that players will return injured — this time it's hit us particularly hard," said Max Eberl, Bayern's director of sport. "The absences of Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano are a heavy blow for Bayern."
Eberl added: "Phonzy will get all the support he needs on his way back. We'll also be closely monitoring Upa in the coming weeks and expect him to be available again soon. Our squad is strong and will compensate for these absences. We'll now work even closer together. We have the quality to continue pursuing our big goals."
The injury comes at a particularly unfortunate time for Davies, who just last month signed a new contract with Bayern Munich that runs until June 2030. He had previously attracted interest from Real Madrid.
The timing is especially cruel for both Bayern Munich and the Canadian national team. For Bayern, Davies provides irreplaceable dynamism down the left flank, and his absence will be keenly felt in their upcoming Champions League quarter-final against Inter Milan. While Raphael Guerreiro and Hiroki Ito can fill in at left-back, neither offers the attacking output that Davies provides.
For Canada, the long-term implications are significant as the country prepares to co-host the 2026 World Cup. While Davies will miss upcoming friendlies in June against Ukraine, Wales, and Ivory Coast, as well as this summer's Gold Cup, the timing means he will likely enter next summer's home World Cup without a proper pre-season behind him.
Interestingly, just after Davies' injury occurred, Canada head coach Jesse Marsch had downplayed its severity. "I don't think it's too bad," Marsch said on Monday morning. "I think he was just a little bit concerned about it. I think it's more precautionary than anything."
The injury has raised questions about managing Davies' workload between club and country. His agent, Nedal Huoseh, told German news outlet tz on Wednesday that Davies should not have started in the Nations League third-place match given an injury he sustained in the semi-final against Mexico, adding that Marsch "could have handled the situation better."
Davies, who captains the Canadian national team, has made 31 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring three times and providing three assists. This is not his first injury setback - he suffered a hamstring strain during a Champions League match against Feyenoord in January that caused him to miss six matches, and he also missed Canada's Nations League quarter-final against Suriname due to fatigue.
The challenge now for both Bayern Munich and Canada will be finding ways to compensate for the absence of a player whose speed and skill simply cannot be replaced by any single alternative in their respective squads.
