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Bayern’s Davies Feared He Might Not Play Again Due to Heart Problem

19 July 2022, US, Washington: Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies attends a press conference during the team's tour in the United States of America. (dpa)
19 July 2022, US, Washington: Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies attends a press conference during the team's tour in the United States of America. (dpa)
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Bayern’s Davies Feared He Might Not Play Again Due to Heart Problem

19 July 2022, US, Washington: Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies attends a press conference during the team's tour in the United States of America. (dpa)
19 July 2022, US, Washington: Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies attends a press conference during the team's tour in the United States of America. (dpa)

Bayern Munich defender Alphonso Davies feared he might not play again after doctors were unable to give him a timeline for his return when he was sidelined by a heart problem last season.

The 21-year-old was diagnosed with a minor heart condition in January following a COVID-19 infection in December, and did not play in a competitive game for Bayern until April. He also missed out on Canada's CONCACAF World Cup qualifiers.

"That was very scary, especially (because) the doctors are saying that they don't know how long I was supposed to be out," Davies told ESPN on Tuesday. "I think that was the scariest part.

"At that time I had doubts in my head, whether I'm still going to be able to play football, but everything worked out at the end. I'm happy and I'm grateful to the doctor for taking such good care of me.

"I'm happy that I can be back on the pitch."

Looking ahead to the coming season, Davies said Bayern will miss striker Robert Lewandowski, who joined LaLiga side Barcelona this week, but added that the signing of Sadio Mane from Liverpool will help fill the void left by the Polish striker.

"(Mane) is a good player, he's a big piece to (add to) the team," Davies said. "So we're excited to have him and we're looking forward to what he can bring to this team.

"An important piece left, but also an important piece arrived."

Bayern, who won the Bundesliga for a 10th straight time, kick off their league campaign on Aug. 5 with a trip to Eintracht Frankfurt.

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Inter Looking to Power Back up Ahead of Champions League Match at Barcelona

Inter Milan's Italian coach Simone Inzaghi reacts during the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium in Milan on April 27, 2025. (AFP)
Inter Milan's Italian coach Simone Inzaghi reacts during the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium in Milan on April 27, 2025. (AFP)
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Inter Looking to Power Back up Ahead of Champions League Match at Barcelona

Inter Milan's Italian coach Simone Inzaghi reacts during the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium in Milan on April 27, 2025. (AFP)
Inter Milan's Italian coach Simone Inzaghi reacts during the Italian Serie A football match between Inter Milan and Roma at the San Siro stadium in Milan on April 27, 2025. (AFP)

Strange things happen when Inter Milan plays Barcelona in the Champions League semifinals.

The last time the two teams met in the final four of Europe’s elite club competition, in 2010, Barcelona had to make a 15-hour journey by bus to Milan after an ash cloud caused by the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull shut down air space.

Barcelona lost that first leg 3-1 and a stout defensive performance by Inter in the return match saw it advance to the final 3-2 on aggregate — where it beat Bayern Munich to clinch a historic treble under Jose Mourinho.

Inter is hoping it won't have to make a similarly arduous journey after an unprecedented blackout brought much of Spain and Portugal to a standstill Monday.

Power had almost fully returned to Spain early Tuesday morning and Inter’s charter flight was still scheduled to take off for Barcelona at 5 p.m. local time ahead of the first leg of their semifinal on Wednesday.

Barcelona’s 17-year-old star Lamine Yamal said he was caught at the team’s training grounds on the outskirts of the city when power went out just after noon on Monday.

“The truth is that we didn’t know what to do. I was with my teammates all day at the training center,” Yamal said on Tuesday. “The blackout made us all very nervous. But of course, now we are only thinking about the semifinal that we are very motivated to play.”

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi will be hoping his team can power back up for the game as well.

Inter heads to Barcelona following a dire run of results that has seen its dreams of another treble evaporate.

For the first time in more than 13 years, Inter has lost three straight matches without scoring a goal.

Since a 2-2 draw against Bayern in the Champions League quarterfinals, the Nerazzurri have lost 1-0 to both Bologna and Roma in Serie A and 3-0 to AC Milan in the second leg of their Italian Cup semifinal.

That has also seen them been leapfrogged at the top of the Serie A table by Napoli, slipping three points behind the new league leader.

“The three defeats hurt and we’re not used to this, we have to look at ourselves and try to recover our physical and mental energy,” Inzaghi said.

Those three games, however, had something in common: Marcus Thuram was missing.

Thuram, who has been out with a left thigh issue, has scored 17 goals and provided nine assists across all competitions for Inter this season.

Without the France forward, Lautaro Martinez has appeared fatigued attempting to carry Inter’s attack. And Marko Arnautovic, Thuram’s replacement, has been ineffective.

Thuram has returned to training and could even start on Wednesday.

“We’ll head to Barcelona and we will play them with respect, not fear,” Inzaghi added.