MUNICH (AP-CP) — Bayern Munich is considering legal action against the Canadian soccer federation following Alphonso Davies’ serious knee injury in a match of little importance.
“We’re demanding a full investigation into the events from Canada Soccer and expressly reserve the right to take legal action,” Bayern chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen told the Bild tabloid on Friday.
Davies tore a ligament and sustained other damage in his right knee during Canada’s 2-1 win over the United States in the third-place decider for the CONCACAF Nations League tournament on Sunday.
Davies returned to Munich where the full extent of the injury was determined on Wednesday. The left-back underwent surgery and “will be out for several months,” Bayern said.
The club is alleging that Canadian officials did not provide appropriate care for the player.
“Sending a clearly injured player with a damaged knee on a 12-hour intercontinental flight without a thorough medical assessment is, in our view, grossly negligent and a clear breach of medical duty of care,” Dreesen said.
He said Davies should not have been playing at all.
“The participation of Davies, who already had muscular problems before the game, in a match of no sporting significance is incomprehensible from our point our view,” Dreesen said.
Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund agreed, saying the treatment of Davies after his injury was “incorrect.”
“Phonzy complained of fatigue. He’s the team captain, a young lad who wants to help his country. Then there’s this injury,” Freund said. “I think it’s negligent, unprofessional.”
Canada Soccer issued a statement in the wake of Bayern's comments saying it had "further reviewed the circumstances related to the medical care provided to Alphonso Davies."
"Medical documentation confirms that proper care protocols were followed, and communication records show that our medical staff provided updates to Bayern Munich throughout the entire tournament," the statement added. "We spoke further with Bayern Munich today to provide them with context and details to address any misunderstandings. We are all focused on supporting Alphonso in the months ahead."
Davies is out for the rest of the season and will miss Bayern’s final games as it bids to wrap up the Bundesliga title and reach the Champions League final at its home stadium in Munich. Bayern faces Inter Milan in the quarterfinals.
Bayern can claim some compensation for Davies’ salary from FIFA’s insurance policy covering national team players’ injury risk, up to $7.5 million per case.
That program began in 2012, a response to Dutch winger Arjen Robben’s injury at the 2010 World Cup. Robben missed six months after returning to Bayern.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who was Bayern and European Club Association chairman at the time, had lamented that Robben “came back in worse condition and now we have to pay the bill.”
Rummenigge urged FIFA to use some of its billion-dollar reserves from World Cup revenues to fund an insurance program.
Salaries have increased in the meantime, however. Davies recently signed a new deal at Bayern with a reported salary of 15 million euros ($16.2 million) not including bonuses.
Bayern's French defender Dayot Upamecano also returned from Nations League duty this week with a less serious knee injury.
Upamecano played the entire quarterfinal return leg against Croatia on Sunday, including extra time, and scored the winning goal in the penalty shootout. The French soccer federation said he played a total of 128 minutes.
The injuries to Davies and Upamecano deny coach Vincent Kompany options in defense with South Korea’s Kim Min-jae already out injured.
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The Associated Press
