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Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies warms up ahead of the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1.FC Union Berlin and Bayern Munich at An der Alten Foersterei. Bayern Munich are considering legal action after their Davies returned from international duty for Canada with a severe knee injury, club officials said on Friday. Andreas Gora/dpa
Bayern Munich are considering legal action after their left back Alphonso Davies returned from international duty for Canada with a severe knee injury, club officials said on Friday.
"We demand that Canada Soccer provide a complete explanation of what happened and expressly reserve the right to take legal action," Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen told the Bild paper.
Sporting director Christoph Freund said in a news conference ahead of Saturday's Bundesliga match against St Pauli that "we want to clear it up completely."
Davies ruptured the cruciate ligament in his knee last weekend in Canada's Nations League match for third place against the United States. It was first believed the injury was not serious, and the full nature of it was only detected after his return to Munich.
Davies has undergone surgery and will be sidelined for at least six months for the Bundesliga leaders and Champions League quarter-finalists, who are also without centre back Dayot Upamecano due to knee problems and surgery after his return from France duty.
Bayern and agent unhappy
Davies' agent, Nedal Huoseh, accused Canada Soccer and coach Jesse Marsh of fielding Davies although he had signalled he wasn't fully fit, and Bayern were also upset about the circumstances of his return.
"Sending an obviously injured player with a damaged knee on a twelve-hour intercontinental flight without proper medical clarification is, in our view, grossly negligent and a clear breach of medical due diligence," Dreesen said.
‘Overall, fielding Davies, who was already suffering from muscular complaints before the game, in a game of no sporting importance is in no way understandable from our point of view."
Freund named fielding Davies "negligent" and "not professional" while like Dreesen saying Davies was not at fault.
"Phonzy was complaining of fatigue, he's the captain of the team, he's a young lad who wants to help his country. Then there's this injury," Freund said.
"Health is the most important thing. It's really hard to take. We'll look into it very closely. The lads are at the limit. Then we have to do everything we can to ensure the players' health."
Freund agreed, saying: "It's not just about Bayern Munich but the health of the players. Otherwise we'll keep losing the best players."
Neuer also not back yet
In addition, goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is still nursing a calf muscle he sustained some three weeks ago, midfielder Aleksandar Pavlovic remains sidelined with glandular fever, and the fitness of defender Kim Minjae in connection with Achilles tendon problems is unclear.
Bayern defend a six-point league lead over Bayer Leverkusen and face a tricky Champions League quarter-final against Inter Milan on April 8 and 12 in a next step of their bid to reach the May 31 final in their home stadium.
Coach Vincent Kompany confirmed that youngster Jonas Urbig would deputise again for Neuer, about whom he said: "It's always very sensitive. That doesn't mean it's bad but that you need time. I don't want to state a time. Hopefully it's quick.
Davies' place could be taken by Raphael Guerrero or Hiroki Ito, with Eric Dier the likely Upamecano replacement.
Injuries no excuse
"We've got enough defenders right now. At the start of the season we had Hiroki Ito and Josip Stanisic out. Everyone needs to be flexible when someone's needed in a position," Kompany said.
"The guys who come in have already played a lot. These absences aren't the first of this season. Obviously you don't feel good after getting the news, but then you look ahead.
"There's no excuses. We need to perform and win."
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Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies speaks during the Teams press conference at the Sabener Strasse training ground ahead of the UEFA Champions League soccer match between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen. Bayern Munich will be without Alphonso Davies for several months due to a serious knee injury, while defender Dayot Upamecano will be out for several weeks in a severe blow to the team before the crucial weeks of the season. Sven Hoppe/dpa
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