Alphonso Davies made his return for Bayern Munich on Tuesday after nearly nine months out with a serious knee injury.
The Canada international came on in the 88th minute of Bayern’s 3-1 Champions League win over Sporting CP.
– Bayern teen Karl makes more history in UCL win
“It was nice to see Alphonso Davies back on the pitch again after such a long, severe injury,” Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany said.
“I didn’t want him to have the pressure of getting us back into the game today, but with the way the match turned out it worked, and I felt that he could help us. We’re obviously glad he’s back.”
Davies replaced Serge Gnabry, who had earlier cancelled out Joshua Kimmich‘s own goal to put Bayern level. Lennart Karl, 17, then became the youngest player to score in three straight Champions League games before Jonathan Tah completed the win for the Bundesliga leaders.
Much of the plaudits, though, were reserved for Davies.
The left back hasn’t played since he was injured in March while playing for Canada against the United States in a Concacaf Nations League third-place game. Davies tore a ligament and sustained other damage in his right knee.
That injury prompted Bayern to criticize the Canadian national team, alleging Davies hadn’t been given proper medical checks on the injury before boarding a flight back to Germany.
“We’re all very pleased for Alphonso Davies,” Gnabry said. “It’s been a long road for him. We’ve seen over the years how important Phonzy is for us, so we’re extremely pleased that he’s back — and hopefully back at full steam soon.”
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
