Alphonso Davies steps up injury recovery in bid for Bayern Munich return

The Canadian international, who suffered the ACL tear while playing for his country in the CONCACAF Nations League third-place playoff against the USA, has been back running and working with the ball as he edges closer to a full return.

"I'm running and training well. I just need to get a bit more muscle mass on my right leg," Davies said in an interview with Bayern's official website. "When the doctors told me how long it could take after the injury, I thought: ‘Wow, that's going to be a long journey.' But it's all looking good now."

The 24-year-old began individual ball work at the start of September and is expected to rejoin team training once the club's medical staff give the green light. Bayern's coaching team are not rushing his return, with a full recovery the main priority as they continue to compete across the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal this season, having started with 10 wins from 10 games in all competitions.

"The future looks good, the hardest part of the rehab is now over for me," Davies added. "I'm excited and looking forward to joining the team again and playing the sport I love. I can't wait to be back on the pitch with my teammates, to help them win games and fight for our goals."

Reflecting on the emotional side of his recovery, Davies admitted the mental challenges were often tougher than the physical ones.

"It's no good hanging my head and moaning or feeling sorry for myself," he said. "Injuries like this are part of sport. The only thing I can do now is battle back, not as quickly but as steadily as possible, so that hopefully nothing happens again."

"The process is more difficult mentally than physically. The muscles will come back by themselves, but not knowing how long you're out for or whether you can do certain things, that's hard. Sometimes the body says: 'I can't take any more.' Then you have to be mentally strong. That's the only way to do it. If you don't do it yourself, no one else will do it for you."

Davies' return will be a major boost for Bayern, who have missed his pace and energy down the left flank, relying on versatile options like Konrad Laimer, Josip Stanisic, and Sacha Boey in his absence. If his recovery continues as planned, the defender could be back in action by November.