Bayern Munich have threatened legal action against Canada Soccer and accused them of “negligence” after full-back Alphonso Davies suffered a serious injury during the game with the United States on Sunday.
Davies played in the CONCACAF Nations League third-place playoff in California but tore the cruciate ligament in his right knee after just 12 minutes.
The player’s agent Nedal Huoseh said the full-back was not 100 per cent fit but felt pressured into playing, claims Canada Soccer said were “untrue”.
Bayern have gone a step further and are furious that one of their key players will now be sidelined for potentially the remainder of 2025.
“We’re demanding a full investigation into the events from Canada Soccer and expressly reserve the right to take legal action,” Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen told the Bild newspaper on Friday.
“The participation of Davies, who already had muscular problems before the game, in a match of no sporting significance is incomprehensible from our point our view.”
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‘A clear breach of medical duty of care’
Dreesen was also unimpressed that Davies was allowed to fly straight back to Munich after the game, adding: “Sending a clearly injured player with a damaged knee on a 12-hour intercontinental flight without a thorough medical assessment is, in our view, grossly negligent and a clear breach of medical duty of care.”
Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund agreed with Huoseh that Canada should have ensured Davies did not play.
“He is the captain, a young man who wanted to help his team but it was borderline,” he said.
“The second issue is the injury after 12 minutes. Then Phonzy [Alphonso] flies back on a 12-hour flight and we all assume it is not a serious injury but then we have this.
“That is sloppy. It is not professional and we need to talk and clear it up. We are the employers, we pay the players, so we will be looking into what happened.”
Bayern suffer Upamecano blow as well as Davies setback
It was a dreadful international break for Bayern, who also lost France defender Dayot Upamecano for up to three months after he was discovered to have floating fragments of bone in a knee.
Bayern board member for sport Max Eberl told the club’s official website: “Unfortunately, there’s always the risk of players returning from international breaks with injuries – this time we’ve been hit particularly hard.
“The absence of Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano weighs heavily on FC Bayern. Phonzy will get all the support he needs on his road to recovery. We’ll also be keeping a close eye on Upa in the coming weeks and expect him to be available again soon.
“We have a strong squad and will compensate for these absences. We’ll now grow even closer together. The quality is there to continue pursuing our big goals.”
