The Canadian soccer federation has defended its handling of star player Alphonso Davies after his club Bayern Munich threatened to take legal action in the aftermath of his serious injury suffered during the Concacaf Nations League finals last week.
Davies tore his anterior cruciate ligament and sustained other damage in his right knee during Canada’s 2-1 win over the United States in the third-place decider for the Nations League tournament on Sunday.
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Davies returned to Munich where the full extent of the injury was determined on Wednesday. The left-back underwent surgery and “will be out for several months,” Bayern said.
The club has alleged that Canadian officials did not provide appropriate care for the player.
However, Canada Soccer responded to Bayern on Friday, saying it had reached out to “address any misunderstandings.”
“Medical documentation confirms that proper care protocols were followed, and communication records show that our medical staff provided updates to Bayern Munich throughout the entire tournament,” Canada Soccer said in a statement reported by Canadian media.
“We spoke further with Bayern Munich today to provide them with context and details to address any misunderstandings. We are all focused on supporting Alphonso in the months ahead.”
Davies is out for the rest of the season and will miss Bayern’s final games as they bid to wrap up the Bundesliga title and reach the Champions League final at their home stadium in Munich. Bayern face Inter Milan in the quarterfinals.
Earlier on Friday, Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen told Bild that the club was “demanding a full investigation into the events from Canada Soccer and expressly reserve the right to take legal action.”
“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,” Dreesen added.
Bayern can claim some compensation for Davies’ salary from FIFA’s insurance policy covering national team players’ injury risk, up to $7.5 million per case.
The first criticism of the Canadian staff’s handling of Davies came from the player’s agent, however he has since sounded a more measured tone.
“Over the past 24 hours, I spoke with [Canada head coach] Jesse Marsch on several occasions,” Nedal Huoseh wrote on social media. “I have a lot of respect for him as a coach. We had positive and productive discussions and laid down the ground work to ensure we are all aligned and working together, to continue to protect the best interests of players. Moving forward everyone involved is focused on prioritizing Phonzie’s recovery.”
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.
