Canadian star Alphonso Davies, sidelined since early January due to symptoms of a mild heart condition following a bout of COVID, underwent a medical examination Friday but is still a ways from returning to action, according to Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann.
“He’s not an option for the next one or two weeks,” Nagelsmann said through an interpreter. “I haven’t heard a result yet (of the medical exam) but even if it was a positive result he was gone for so long, so he’d need to go into rehab training.
“He obviously had to keep really still the last couple of weeks and was unable to train completely. He’s really just been lying around lazily and I don’t mean that in a bad way. He was unfortunately not able, not allowed to move a lot. So he’ll require time to return.”
READ MORE: Canadian soccer star Alphonso Davies on road to recovery, according to Bayern Munich
Nagelsmann was speaking at his news conference ahead of Saturday’s match with visiting Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern said Jan. 5 that Davies had joined a lengthy list of players who had tested positive for COVID, adding the speedy fullback was well and self-isolating at home.
The 21-year-old from Edmonton was back training a week later, but his return was put on hold with Bayern reporting Jan. 14 that tests showed the Canadian was suffering from signs of myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. Myocarditis is a mild, temporary condition in the vast majority of cases, according to experts.
Davies’ myocarditis was detected in the follow-up examination that all players who have had COVID undergo.
The illness has meant Davies has not played for Canada since a pair of World Cup qualifying wins in November in Edmonton. It seems unlikely he will be ready for the Canadian men’s remaining three games in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying,
Canada, which tops the eight-team final round-robin in the region at 7-0-4, is on the verge of qualifying for Qatar 2022.
John Herdman’s team plays at Costa Rica on March 24 before hosting Jamaica on March 27 in Toronto, finishing off March 30 in Panama.
Bayern (9-4-1) tops the Bundesliga standings, 14 points ahead of third-place Leverkusen (13-6-5).