'Look what happened' - Ex-Leeds United boss slammed by agent after player suffers major injury requiring surgery
Former Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch has been criticised by Canada international Alphonso Davies' agent for fielding the Bayern Munich defender in a game which led to the rupture of his anterior cruciate ligament.
Davies is due to undergo surgery in Germany and will be sidelined for the majority of 2025 after picking up the injury in Canada's 2-1 win over the United States Men's National Team during this month's international break.
A statement given by Davies' agent Nedal Huoseh to Canadian outlet One Soccer expresses the 'disappointment' at Canada Soccer's management of the player.
“I am very disappointed. Alphonso was not 100% after the Mexico game and it was planned that he was not going to start against the USA.
"On Saturday night the expectation was he would not be in the XI. As a captain I feel he was pressured to start the game by the coach. Alphonso is not the kind of guy to say no in those moments. He ended up playing and look what happened.
"Canada Soccer needs to do a better job managing these players, in my opinion. Alphonso is down and obviously really disappointed about this injury.
"Thankfully he is in wonderful hands with a world class group at Bayern who will take great care of him. He is expected to have the surgery within the next 24 hours,” the statement finished.
Marsch was shown a straight red card in the Concacaf Nations League third-place play-off between Canada and the United States after Canada were not awarded a penalty shortly after the break. It followed what the 51-year-old suggested was disrespect on the part of Concacaf officials towards his team after a similar incident against Mexico in their Nations League semi-final defeat.
Canada Soccer have responded to the allegations with the following statement: "We want to express our full support for our Men's National Team captain, Alphonso Davies, as he recovers from this unfortunate injury.
"Phonzie’s strength and resilience matches his world-class talent, and we all look forward to fully supporting him during his recovery.
"Canada Soccer's coaches and experienced medical staff are true professionals and have always prioritized player safety and wellbeing. Anything suggesting otherwise is untrue."