Alphonso Davies out for now. But when will Canada’s captain appear in World Cup?

MRI test results "showed very positive signs"

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Published Jun 11, 2026  •  Last updated 16 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

Alphonso Davies (centre) and his Canadian teammates take part in a training session one day ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group B match between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina at Toronto Stadium on June 11, 2026 in Toronto. Photo by Michael Steele /Getty Images

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There was good news regarding Canada’s captain Alphonso Davies on the eve of the team’s massively anticipated World Cup opener.

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No, the team’s star player hasn’t completely recovered from a hamstring injury sustained in early May, but coach Jesse Marsch said his invaluable left back is making significant progress in his recovery.

“We did an MRI with him (on Wednesday) and it showed very positive signs that he’s healing incredibly well, almost completely,” Marsch said on Thursday. “We’re getting ready to ramp things up.”

The coach noted that historically Davies has shown “a real good ability” to recover from muscle injury and that he has made strides in the team’s four days of workouts here in Toronto.

“I think that having his private physio here (for training) has been very helpful and the concentration on his body’s needs each day,” Marsch said, inferring that Bayern Munich, Davies’ German club, is still very much involved in his convalescence.

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“So we are really hopeful that over the next days and week that we can accelerate things and give him a chance to contribute here soon.”

Though he deked around it, Marsch did acknowledge the obvious: That the team’s chances to get off to a strong tournament start would have benefited greatly from a couple more weeks of recovery for Davies.

“I wish we had two more weeks, so that Alfonso would really be back and all our guys would have a little bit more underneath them,” Marsch said of his injury-afflicted team. “But at the same time, man, we are ready.”

Not having Davies available for Friday’s Group B opening contest against Bosnia and Herzegovina was always the likely outcome. Just when Davies surfaces in game action is the great mystery attached to the excitement surrounding the Canadian team.

Meanwhile, Bosnian coach Sergej Barbarez believes the absence of Davies isn’t necessarily a huge plus for his underdog team.

“I can not say that this is an advantage for us,” Barbarez said through a translator on Thursday. “Not playing (on Friday) it can be a negative for a coach, but it can also be a positive. It can create space for other players.”

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