Is Alphonso Davies vaccinated?

Julian Nagelsmann, Bayern Munich coach, made official today that Canadian left-back Alphonso Davies will be out of the pitches for an undetermined period of time after he was diagnosed with a mild myocarditis.

Although the 21-year-old from Edmonton is vaccinated and got his Covid-19 vaccine booster in December, he tested positive on January 4, when the club made a statement saying he was feeling well and was self-isolating at home. He came back to training on January 13, on the same day he was diagnosed.

The medical staff of Bundesliga side detected the inflammation of the heart muscle in a standard procedure every player goes after recovering from Covid, which will make him unavailable for the upcoming weeks.

"He'll sit out training until further notice. He won't be available, also in the coming weeks. The ultrasound shows this myocarditis isn't so dramatic but it's a sign of myocarditis. Still, it has to heal and that will definitely take some time," said Nagelsmann.

What’s a myocarditis?

According to the CDC, myocarditis is the inflammation of the heart muscle, something that the body’s immune system causes in response to an infection or some other trigger. It’s been rarely reported especially in adolescents and young adult males within several days after Covid-19 vaccination.

They also inform that most patients with myocarditis who received care responded well to medicine and rest and felt better quickly and can usually return to their normal daily activities after their symptoms improve.

When asked if the myocarditis Davies presented was due to Covid, Naggleman said that “That occurred pre-Corona to other players. Now the probability is higher if you combine Corona and top athleticism, that might cause other problems. But that's not relevant for us right now.”

Bayern’s coach added: “the ultrasound shows this myocarditis isn’t so dramatic but it’s a sign of myocarditis. Still, it has to heal and that will definitely take some time”. Davies will have a weekly MRI to monitor how his myocarditis progresses.

How much time will Alphonso Davies miss?

There’s no definitive answer to this question, as it will depend on how the myocarditis evolves, but according to his agent, the Canadian international will be out at least four weeks, which means he most likely won’t be ready for the FIFA Qualifiers games to be held at the end of January and on the first days of February.

It’s worth noting that Canada is playing against USMNT for CONCACAF’s first place on the Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar later this year, and Phonzy’s absence will be resented by Canada National Team as he’s one of the best players they have on their squad.

So far, Davies has missed the game Bayern lost 2-1 against Borussia Monchengladbach, and he’s most likely to miss at least the matches against Koln, to be played in January 15, Herta Berlin on January 23, and Leipzig on February 5. He’ll also be out for the Canada National Team games against Honduras, United States and El Salvador.