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World Cup hosts Canada have been dealt a huge blow ahead of their opening fixture against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday.
Boss Jesse Marsch had been sweating on the fitness of his captain, Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies, who had been battling to be fit in time for his nation's curtain raiser.
The wing-back strained his right hamstring in the Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain back in May and has been in a race to get fit ever since.
Injury places extra pressure on striker Jonathan David
Marsch has since confirmed that Davies will miss the opening match and will likely miss out on the second group game too in a huge blow for the Canadians.
The American coach said that his skipper had been working with a private physio and that he was hopeful he would eventually be able to contribute.
Davies' injury means that there will now be extra pressure on Juventus striker Jonathan David, who is Canada's all-time top goal scorer with 39 goals.
The forward scored eight goals in his first season in Serie A following his move from Lille last summer.
He and Davies are seen as the Canadians' talismen, although they do have some more experienced players throughout their ranks elsewhere.
Included in their squad is Villarreal midfielder Tajon Buchanan and Celtic defender Alistair Johnston.
They open their tournament with a tricky tie against Bosnia and Herzegovina who knocked out Italy in the playoffs to qualify.
After Bosnia, Canada will face Qatar on Thursday, June 18 before completing their group stage against Switzerland on Wednesday, June 24 in Vancouver.
Even with his star player injured, Marsch believes Canada has a good chance of making it to the knockout stages.
He told CBC: "We're going to have to manage the group phase and get out. I think [Davies] can be ready for sure once we get out of the group. And I think if we're smart, and good, and careful, that he can be ready for the third match in the group as well."
