Scott Stinson: What we know about Alphonso Davies’ chances of playing in Canada’s World Cup game

Alphonso Davies, captain of Canada's soccer team, has been recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in early May while playing for Bayern Munich, his professional club. Photo by Fran Santiago/Getty Images

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In a way, Alphonso Davies has been all over this World Cup.

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Every time the television broadcast breaks for commercials, the captain of the Canadian men’s national soccer team appears alongside icons of the sport in a McDonald’s commercial, or bouncing a ball off his head in a spot for BMO.

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At Toronto’s Union Station, where tens of thousands of fans arrive for the short ride west to the stadium, the superstar left back looms from large video screens, in another ad for the bank.

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He’s on the sidelines before and during games, leaning in to offer advice and encouragement to his teammates.

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But where Davies has very much not been, through Canada’s only three games on home soil in this tournament, is on the pitch. Not when the matches are happening, anyway.

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And it’s starting to become a thing. Is he hurt worse than feared, or is the team keeping him in metaphorical bubble wrap until the last possible minute?

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The 25-year-old has been recovering from a hamstring injury suffered in early May while playing for Bayern Munich, his professional club. And while there were originally concerns over whether he would heal enough to appear in this home World Cup, head coach Jesse Marsch has been consistently positive about his prospects.

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After Davies was late to join Canada’s training camp, having stayed in Munich for additional treatment, Marsch said he expected him to play in the tournament, while allowing that he would not feature in the opener against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

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Marsch then started referring to Davies simply as “available” — he told TSN that he decided he had been too honest in sharing updates on the player’s status — for subsequent matches, in a transparent attempt to keep Canada’s opponents guessing.

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But it would also be a guessing game for Canadian fans. Would Davies play, or would he only come on the pitch if they really needed him? After all, every additional day that the hamstring wasn’t put under the stress of game conditions would improve his recovery.

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In Canada’s second game, the question quickly became moot when the hosts jumped out to an early lead and Qatar had a player sent off in the first half. No point in coming on just to pad a big lead, which his teammates did anyway.

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But the third game, on Wednesday against Switzerland, seemed a likely time for Davies to make his return, if he was indeed available. Even if he didn’t start, which is typical when players are coming back from injury, getting back on the pitch would make sense as Canada prepared for an all-but-certain appearance in the knockout rounds.

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As it happened, the ideal situation for a Davies cameo presented itself: Canada trailing Switzerland by a goal late, and needing a draw to secure a spot in a knockout game in Vancouver instead of going on the road. It seemed like a fine time to introduce your team’s only true superstar, the guy who scored the first goal in Canadian men’s World Cup history and who can change a game with merely his presence.