Alphonso Davies out for CanMNT; Herdman working with Bayern for 'opportunity'

Jonathan David, Stephen Eustaquio, Milan Borjan, Atiba Hutchinson - the usual company were all named to Canada's latest and last World Cup Qualifying squad for March's final match slate.

But one notable absence is that of Alphonso Davies, who has been ruled out of participating entirely as he continues his recovery from COVID-19 related heart inflammation.

"As a young man, he's been frustrated, for sure," manager John Herdman explained in his squad announcement news conference.

"He's an energetic guy, and he's been told to sit and do nothing for 8, 9 weeks."

Herdman continued: "We were desparate to have him in, to be part of this, to get him on the pitch even for a few minutes.

"But, there are bigger things ahead. We just want to make sure he comes back to full health, and the best place for him to be is at Bayern Munich.

Davies has played an instrumental role in securing many of Canada's most memorable points to vault the team to the top of the Concacaf qualifying table, and continued to show his support for the team in January as he watched matches with an audience on his Twitch channel, to viral cheer.

But, having been ruled out of club play as he recovers from myocarditis following a COVID-19 infection, the young superstar is slated to remain with the medical staff at Bayern Munich during Canada's upcoming three matches.

Herdman stressed that while Davies' recovery was also his group's top priority, they are working with the Bavarian outfit to see how things look as the situation develops.

"There may be an opportunity, and we're working with Bayern to see if we can have him in and around the environment at some stage, but again, his recovery will come first," Herdman affirmed.