(Umm Şalāl “Alī) As the World Cup draws nearer, Canadian coach John Herdman gave a somber medical update on Saturday.
Goalkeeper Milan Borjan and midfielder Stephen Eustaquio add star Alphonso Davies as a question mark for the side’s opener against world number two Belgium on Wednesday.
Davies arrived in Qatar on Friday night after being treated in Germany for a thigh strain he sustained in a game with Bayern Munich on November 6.
Bayern say Davies’ participation in Qatar is not in jeopardy but he has not played since.
“I have to make sure he plays in this World Cup, it’s a childhood dream for him,” said Herdman. On the other hand, I must not put him in a position that endangers his health. »
“We haven’t played a team at the level of Belgium since 2008 (a 3-2 loss to Brazil). So you need players like Alphonso, regardless of whether they are a regular player or a reserve player. We do everything we can. »
Eustaquio is a commonplace case, plagued by a muscle problem he suffered in training earlier this week.
“We’re evaluating what he can handle over the next three days,” Herdman said. If he’s not there, I’m sure he will act as a backup. »
Borjan felt something in his abdomen during Thursday’s 2-1 win against No. 24 Japan.
Eustaquio is a creative force in midfield and has recently performed very well at FC Porto.
Borjan is the NoOh 1 by Canada and a leader who played 68 games for Canada, at No. 41e in the world.
The substitutes are Dayne St. Clair and James Pantemis.
The players in question were not made available to Canada Soccer media on Saturday.
Canada’s other games in Group F are on November 27 against Croatia (12the in the world) and the 1ah December vs Morocco (22e).
Davies was able to take part in contact training parts but is still trying to regain his top speed.
“He hasn’t reached that top speed yet and when you have a hamstring injury that’s always the key moment,” said Herdman.
The coach noted that his side had shown they could win without Davies: in the final qualifying round, the country led the round robin with an 8-2-4 record.
Indisposed, the 22-year-old from Edmonton missed seven of those games. Canada went 5-2-0 in his absence.
” [S’il ne peut pas jouer]I’m confident there is a group of people who will come together to do what is needed,” Herdman said.
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