Canada manager Jesse Marsch calls for ceasefire with Bayern Munich over Alphonso Davies injury controversy

After Alphonso Davies tore his ACL on international duty with Canada in the March CONCACAF Nations League third-place match, his agent, Nedal Huoseh released a damming statement suggested the player was unfit and "pressured" to play - and his club Bayern Munich followed it up, calling the medical practice of Les Rouges"grossly negligent."

Canada Soccer responded saying "proper protocol" was followed when treating Davies. Canada manager Jesse Marsch now says that he spoke with Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund on the topic, and that the agent's comments were "blown out of proportion."

“I think that some of (Huoseh's) comments were misinterpreted and blown out of proportion. In the end, he was trying to protect Alphonso and support him in the situation,” Marsch told the Athletic. “For Alphonso, it’s his first real injury. When you’re a young player and you haven’t been through these things, it’s not always the easiest thing to understand how to handle every moment.”

Marsch said he connected with Freund to try to lower the temperature on the controversy.

“We talked a few times about the whole situation to create clarity and understanding between what it was like when Alphonso was with us and what has happened and what it’s been like when he’s been with them,” Marsch said.

That said, the manager said Canada Soccer should not be blamed for the injury.

“(Davies) has been working with his hamstring since November, December of last year. We were aware of the fact that there were sensitivities to all of this,” Marsch said. “We’re all disappointed that (Davies) experienced this injury, but we’re incredibly focused on making sure that we’re going to all support him in the right way and we’re going to use the opportunity to get to know each other and be stronger with our communication and our conviction to make sure that (Davies) is always in a good place to perform and be at his best.”

Marsch believes Davies will make a full recovery by the end of the year, and that he will be ready to represent the team he captains next summer at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

“(Davies) is the best athlete I’ve ever coached,” Marsch said. “I’ve never seen an athlete like him. He’s going to come back better and stronger. And he’s going to rebound from this injury better than anyone that I’ve coached that’s had these injuries before, just because his body is like a machine and his mentality to be at his best is so strong that he’ll be back and he’ll ready to go.”

The 24-year-old captained Canada in both matches at the Nations League in March before the injury. At Bayern, he managed to appear in 19 Bundesliga matches, scoring one goal and adding two assists. The Bundesliga side are currently in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League and trail Italian club Inter Milan 2-1 heading into leg two of their series this week.

Canada have made two prior World Cup appearances, in 1986 and 2022, and will be making their third in 2026 as one of the hosts of the competition.

Marsch and his squad return to the pitch on June 7 in an international friendly against Ukraine.