Alphonso Davies happy to be back with Canadian teammates ahead of World Cup

It wasn't the way Alphonso Davies wanted to return to the field in his hometown of Edmonton, but Canada's captain was still happy to be there.

Davies got some running in before his teammates took on Uzbekistan in a pre-World Cup friendly at Commonwealth Stadium on Monday.

The strides gave him a chance to test out the injured hamstring that prevented him from joining the group for training camp in Charlotte, N.C., last week.

"It feels nice to get back on the pitch and do some running," the 25-year-old Bayern Munich defender said after watching Canada down Uzbekistan 2-0. "I'm happy to be home and I'm happy to be with the boys and support them. Whether it's on or off the pitch I'm happy to do it."

Davies met up with the national squad in Edmonton on Sunday night, but how long it will be before he joins them on the field remains to be seen.

Head coach Jesse Marsch has said the star left back is continuing the rehabilitation program set out by his club, and now that he's with Canada, he'll be monitored daily.

Neither Bayern nor the Canadians want him to feel pressure to come back, Marsch added.

"Obviously when the games get started, he's going to want to play," he said. "But what we don't want to do is put him in a situation to suffer again and be vulnerable again."

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Davies has made 58 appearances for the senior national team, scoring 15 goals and contributing 17 assists across the stretch.

His biggest strike came in December 2022 when he scored Canada's first-ever World Cup goal in a group-stage match against Qatar.

A string of injuries — including a torn anterior cruciate ligament — have kept the young star from playing with the Maple Leaf on his chest