Canada rules Henry out of World Cup due to injury

Toronto FC defender Doneil Henry will miss the World Cup after tearing his calf during the warm-up ahead of a friendly against Bahrain.

Atiba Hutchinson, the 39-year-old veteran midfielder and Canada captain, was included in the final 26-man roster presented Sunday by coach John Herdman.

The only surviving squad member when Canada played in its last World Cup in 1986, Hutchinson made his season debut for the Besiktas Turks on Wednesday after recovering from a bone bruise.

Henry, who has played eight of 20 qualifying games, is the third Canadian to be eliminated before the World Cup. Goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau broke his right leg while playing for Los Angeles FC in the MLS final, while defender Scott Kennedy suffered a shoulder injury with Regensburg on 29 October.

Henry’s injury happened in the 2-2 draw against Bahrain last Friday.

Herdman said the recovery period can take up to 14 days and Henry will work with the coaching staff during the tournament.

Canada will play a final friendly match against Japan on Thursday in Dubai.

They will start in Group F against Belgium on November 23, then face Croatia four days later and close with Morocco on December 1.

The call includes 11 MLS players, as well as three Belgians, two French, Portuguese and Turkish. There is also one per head from England, Germany, Greece, Scotland, Serbia and Switzerland.

Ready:

Goalkeepers: Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade), Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota), James Pantemis (Montreal)

Defenders: Samuel Adekugbe (Hatayspor), Derek Cornelius (Panetolikos), Alistair Johnston (Montreal), Richie Laryea (Toronto), Kamal Miller (Montreal), Steven Vitória (Chaves), Joel Waterman (Montreal)

Midfielder: Stephen Eustáquio (Porto), Liam Fraser (Deinze), Atiba Hutchinson (Besiktas), Mark-Anthony Kaye (Toronto), Ismael Kone (Montreal), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto), Samuel Piette (Montreal), David Wotherspoon (St Johnstone)

Forwards: Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge), Lucas Cavallini (Vancouver); Jonathan David (Lille, France), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich), Junior Hoilett (Reading), Cyle Larin (Club Bruges), Liam Millar (Basel), Iké Ugbo (Troyes, France)

Mona Watkins

"Travel fan. Gamer. Hardcore pop culture buff. Amateur social media specialist. Coffeeaholic. Web trailblazer."

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *