Agent for Davies says he had 'positive' talks with Marsch

The agent for Alphonso Davies says he and Canada manager Jesse Marsch have cleared the air.

A day after Nedal Huoseh released a scathing statement blaming Canada Soccer for the left-back's ACL tear on Sunday, he took a more conciliatory tone in a social media post.

"Over the past 24 hours, I spoke with Jesse Marsch on several occasions," Huoseh 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 Bayern Munich star came off injured in the 23rd minute of this weekend's 2-1 win over the United States in the Concacaf Nations League third-place game. Further tests revealed a torn ACL in his right leg, ruling him out for several months.

On Wednesday, Huoseh said his client should not have been playing in the match and felt pressured to do so.

"Alphonso was not 100 per cent after [Thursday's] Mexico game and it was planned that he was not going to start against the USA,” Huoseh said. “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."

Later in the day, Canada Soccer released a statement of its own, disputing Huoseh's claim.

"We want to express our full support for our Men's National Team captain, Alphonso Davies, as he recovers from this unfortunate injury," the statement read. "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."

The injury to Davies, 24, rules him out of the rest of the Bundesliga leaders' season, including the Club World Cup set for June. Davies will also be unavailable for Canada's Gold Cup effort, also set for June.