Bayern Munich star faces layoff over heart issue
Bayern Munich boss Julian Nagelsmann says that his Canadian superstar defender Alphonso Davies, 21, will be absent from first-team affairs for several weeks after being diagnosed with the heart inflammation issue myocarditis.
Davies, who is heralded by many as among the finest attacking fullbacks in world football, has been a key cog in Nagelsmann's pursuit of what would be a 10th successive Bundesliga crown for German football's most historically successful club
But the 34-year-old boss, who is in his first season after succeeding Hansi Flick in the job, will have to make do without the speedy fullback for "some time".
The Canadian has not played for Bayern's first-team since being diagnosed with Covid-19 earlier this month – but ahead of routine medical checks ahead of his expected return, signs of the cardiac illness were found which prompted club medics to mandate his return to the treatment table.
Davies is now likely to miss "weeks" of football and is a major doubt for Canada's trio of pivotal World Cup qualification matches beginning in two weeks.
"During our follow-up examination that we do with every player that has had Covid-19, we detected signs of mild myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle," Nagelsmann explained at a media conference on Friday.
"He has stopped training for now, so he won't be available to us for the next weeks.
"This myocarditis isn't too dramatic based on the ultrasound, but more simply signs of an inflammation. Nevertheless, it needs to heal and that will no doubt take some time."
Davies' diagnosis comes at a time when the cardiac health of footballers has been under an intense social media spotlight after several high-profile incidents associated with the sports in the past year or more.
Davies was among nine Bayern Munich players to have tested positive for Covid-19 at the beginning of January following German football's winter break, which hampered Nagelsmann's options for last Friday's Bundesliga clash with Monchengladbach – a game the Bavarian side lost 2-1.
Lat month, another Bayern Munich star, Joshua Kimmich, expressed his regrets at not taking one of the available Covid-19 vaccines after being forced to miss time from the team following his own diagnosis.
