Davies' agent opts for diplomatic tone in wake of Canadian men's captain's knee injury

The war of words over Alphonso Davies' knee injury cooled somewhat Thursday with a conciliatory communique from the Canada captain's agent.

In the wake of Bayern Munich's announcement Wednesday that Davies had torn his anterior cruciate ligament in Canada's 2-1 weekend win over the U.S. in the CONCACAF Nations League third-place game in Inglewood, Calif., agent Nedal Huoseh turned up the heat by saying Davies "was not 100 per cent after the Mexico game [last Thursday]" and was "pressured to start the [U.S.] game by the coach [Jesse Marsch]."

"Canada Soccer needs to do a better job managing these players," he concluded.

Paulo Senra, Canada Soccer's chief communications and content officer, disputed that statement later in the day, saying "Canada Soccer's coaches and experienced medical staff are true professionals and have always prioritized player safety and well-being."

"Anything suggesting otherwise is untrue," Senra said in a statement.

WATCH | Davies suffers knee injury during match against the United States:

Alphonso Davies leaves match with injury against U.S.

Huoseh offered a more diplomatic take in a social media post Thursday.

"Over the past 24 hours, I spoke with Jesse Marsch on several occasions," he wrote. "I have a lot of respect for him as a coach. We had positive and productive discussions and laid down the ground work to ensure we are all aligned and working together, to continue to protect the best interests of players. Moving forward everyone involved is focused on prioritizing Phonzie's recovery."

The injury comes some 15 months before the start of the 2026 World Cup, which Canada is co-hosting. If all goes well, he should be back in time to lead the 31st-ranked Canadian men.

Bayern, on its