(Munich) Bayern Munich coach Julian Nagelsmann has revealed that Canadian soccer star Alphonso Davies is still several weeks away from returning to action.
Posted at 10:50 a.m.
That prediction would rule him out of Canada’s final three World Cup qualifiers.
The 21-year-old has been out since early January with symptoms of myocarditis, a mild heart condition, after a bout with COVID. But he has been making progress recently as evidenced by a video this week showing the speedy full-back doing individual workouts at Bayern’s training centre.
“We got a good record today, but we’re going slowly,” Nagelsmann said Friday. He’ll probably be back in about three to four weeks, at least that’s still our goal. So he will play that Champions League game hopefully against Villarreal if everything works out as planned. »
Bayern are due to meet Spanish club Villarreal in the Champions League quarter-final second leg on April 6-12.
Nagelsmann was speaking ahead of Bayern’s Bundesliga game against visiting FC Union Berlin on Saturday.
Canada, who dominate Concacaf’s eight-team final round robin with a 7-0-4 record, are on course to qualify for Qatar 2022. John Herdman’s team play in Costa Rica, on March 24, before welcoming Jamaica on March 27 in Toronto, and completing March 30 in Panama.
His health issues prevented Davies from lining up for Canada in both World Cup qualifying victories in November in Edmonton.
Bayern announced on January 5 that Davies had joined a long list of players who had tested positive for COVID, adding that the player was doing well and was in home confinement.
Davies resumed training a week later but his return to action was suspended, with Bayern reporting on January 14 that tests showed the Canadian was suffering from signs of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. It is a mild and temporary condition in the vast majority of cases, according to experts.
Davies’ myocarditis was detected during a follow-up exam that all players who have had COVID undergo.
Bayern (19-4-3) top the Bundesliga table while Union Berlin (10-8-8) are eighth.