Canada hurting ahead of World Cup opener in Qatar against No. 2 Belgium

Canada coach John Herdman had a bleak medical update Saturday with goalkeeper Milan Borjan and midfielder Stephen Eustaquio joining star Alphonso Davies as question marks for the World Cup opener against No. 2 Belgium.

Davies arrived in Qatar on Friday evening after receiving treatment back at Bayern Munich for a hamstring strain suffered Nov. 6 in a Bundesliga game at Hertha Berlin. While Bayern said Davies' participation in Qatar was "not at risk," he has not played since.

"My mission is to make sure he plays at this World Cup, it's a childhood dream for him," said Herdman. "And not to put him in a position where he's unsafe."

"But I have to say Belgium's another level, we haven't faced a team of that level since we played against Brazil [a 3-2 loss in 2008]. So you need players like Alphonso, whether that's starting, [coming] off the bench," he added. "So we're doing everything we can."

Herdman said Eustaquio, perhaps Canada's most influential midfielder, is "day by day" dealing with soreness from a muscle issue suffered in training earlier this week.

"It's another calculation. It's an algorithm we're trying to process now of is he hitting his markers?" said Herdman. "It really is mathematics — of what he can tolerate now through these next three training days to show that he's ready to start.

"If there's not a starting position, I'm sure he'll be coming off the bench. But there's no guarantees Stephen Eustaquio will start against Belgium at this point."

Borjan, meanwhile, felt "something in his abdomen" during Thursday's 2-1 win over No. 24 Japan in Dubai, said Herdman,

"Just precautionary," said Herdman.

"[We're] getting ready in case. Next man up," he added with what seemed a nervous laugh. "We went through the