Canada's Alphonso Davies back in Bayern Munich lineup after months out due to myocarditis layoff post-COVID-19

Kyle Bonn

Canada's Alphonso Davies back in Bayern Munich lineup after months out due to myocarditis layoff post-COVID-19 image

Alphonso Davies is back on the field after more than three months on the sidelines for both club and country. His first game back was a start in Bayern's Champions League quarterfinal first leg against Villarreal on April 6.

The Canadian had been out of action at Bayern Munich for some time, with the Bundesliga giants previously detecting signs of heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis) in a player who recovered from COVID-19 in February.

The myocarditis diagnosis kept the Canada international sidelined for months, missing for Bayern since the return from winter break. He was not included on the Canada roster for the final two CONCACAF World Cup qualifying windows, instead watching from home with fans on Twitch.

Davies returned to training with Bayern a few weeks ago, needing to build up match fitness after resting in full during recovery. The Bavarian giants included Davies in the traveling squad for the April 6 Champions League visit to Villarreal and he wound up in the starting lineup.

When did Alphonso Davies return for Bayern Munich?

Davies returned to the starting lineup on April 6 and Bayern head coach Julian Nagelsmann had hinted that this would be a possibility when he included the Canadian in the squad. 

The start was definitely a surprise given his long layoff. It was believed by many that he would be introduced off the bench until he reached full match fitness.

"He will be coming with us," Nagelsmann said in his pre-match press conference. "His last test was very positive. So he will travel with us and he could start [April 6] but we will have to see today and tomorrow. But it is possible."

That timeline fit with the previous update that was provided in late March. According to an interview with the Bayern Munich official website on March 27, Davies was close to being back, and said he was fully recovered from his heart condition, now just regaining match fitness.

"The rehab is going well so far," Davies said at the time. "I have no problems with my muscles and heart, but I'm not at 100 per cent - yet! I'm just happy that I can train again and I'm ready for work.

"I'm giving it my all. I'm working closely with the medical department and the rehab staff. And I'm training very, very hard with and without the ball. Lots of running, strength training. I hope I can soon be back helping the team."

Davies had been out for all of 2022 to date, with his COVID-19 bout over the winter break leading to the heart condition.

“He was gone for so long, so he’d need to go into rehab training.” Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann said back on March 5.

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Ramping up was important given he was not involved in much activity during this time away.

“He obviously had to keep really still the last couple of weeks and was unable to train completely," Nagelsmann also said in early March. "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.”

Nagelsmann also said Alphonso Davies has another check today but it will be another 2 weeks anyway before he could do anything given how long he has been out. It will take time.

— Derek Rae (@RaeComm) March 4, 2022

How many matches has Alphonso Davies missed?

Davies has been out since the return from the winter break, with his last match on December 17 against Wolfsburg in Bundesliga play.

Since his diagnosis, Davies has missed 11 league matches, with Bayern winning seven, drawing two, and losing two over that span. The team sits nine points above second-placed Borussia Dortmund, with the league title in its grasp.

He has also missed two Champions League matches, absent for both Round of 16 matches against RB Salzburg in February and March.

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Davies misses Canada World Cup qualifying

For the national team, Davies missed six matches, absent for two full qualifying windows. Without Davies, Canada had a perfect January/February window, with consecutive 2-0 wins over Honduras, the United States, and El Salvador.

He also missed the March international window, with Canada securing a World Cup berth on the back of a 4-0 home win over Jamaica, although Les Rouges also dropped 1-0 score lines to Costa Rica and Panama on the road. Despite the pair of late losses, Canada finished atop the standings, a resounding achievement.

Country PTS GP W L D GF GA GD
Canada 28 14 8 2 4 23 7 +16
Mexico 28 14 8 2 4 17 8 +9
United States 25 14 7 3 4 21 10 +11
Costa Rica 25 14 7 3 4 13 8 +5
Panama 21 14 6 5 3 17 19 -2
Jamaica 11 14 2 7 5 12 22 -10
El Salvador 10 14 2 8 4 8 18 -10
Honduras 4 14 0 10 4 7 26 -19

Davies now should return in plenty of time to gear up for the 2022 World Cup, with Canada scheduled to take on Honduras and Curacao in Group C of the CONCACAF Nations League this summer.

Below is the full list of Canada's past results and upcoming matches in the quest for 2022 World Cup qualification. 

Date Match Highlights
Sept. 2, 2021 Canada 1, Honduras 1 Highlights
Sept. 5, 2021 United States 1, Canada 1 Highlights
Sept. 8, 2021 Canada 3, El Salvador 0 Highlights
Oct. 7, 2021 Mexico 1, Canada 1 Highlights
Oct. 10, 2021 Jamaica 0, Canada 0 Highlights
Oct. 13, 2021 Canada 4, Panama 1 Highlights
Nov. 12, 2021 Canada 1, Costa Rica 0 Highlights
Nov. 16, 2021 Canada 2, Mexico 1 Highlights
Jan. 27, 2022 Honduras 0, Canada 2 Highlights
Jan. 30, 2022 Canada 2, United States 0 Highlights
Feb. 2, 2022 El Salvador 0, Canada 2 Highlights
Mar. 24, 2022 Costa Rica 1, Canada 0 Highlights
Mar. 27, 2022 Canada 4, Jamaica 0 Highlights
Mar. 30, 2022 Panama 1, Canada 0 Highlights

Kyle Bonn

Kyle Bonn Photo

Kyle Bonn, is a Syracuse University broadcast journalism graduate with over a decade of experience covering soccer globally. Kyle specializes in soccer tactics and betting, with a degree in data analytics. Kyle also does TV broadcasts for Wake Forest soccer, and has had previous stops with NBC Soccer and IMG College. When not covering the game, he has long enjoyed loyalty to the New York Giants, Yankees, and Fulham. Kyle enjoys playing racquetball and video games when not watching or covering sports.