TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Toronto defender Doneil Henry will miss the World Cup with a torn calf sustained during warmups in a pre-tournament exhibition against Bahrain.
Atiba Hutchinson, a 39-year-old midfielder and Canada鈥檚 captain, was among 26 players picked for the roster Sunday by coach John Herdman. The only player on the roster alive during Canada鈥檚 last World Cup appearance in 1986, Hutchinson made his first appearance of the season for Turkey鈥檚 Be艧ikta艧 on Wednesday after recovering from a bone bruise.
Henry, who played in eight of 20 qualifiers, became the third Canadian player to miss the tournament with an injury after goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, who in Major League Soccer鈥檚 championship match, and defender Scott Kennedy, who on Oct. 29.
鈥淗e just felt a little bit of tightness,鈥� Herdman said. 鈥淗e tried to push it a little bit further. It sort of led to a maybe a tear in the there. ... He just wasn鈥檛 able to create any explosivity out of the calf.鈥�
Henry, 29, has 44 international appearances. Herdman said recovery time is up to 14 days and Henry will work with the coaching staff during the tournament.
鈥淚t really shows the courage and what this brotherhood鈥檚 about when a man can sort of surrender his shirt and take that step forward to support the team in a different role,鈥� Herdman said.
Canada plays Japan in an exhibition on Thursday at Dubai, United Arab Emirates, then opens Group F play against Belgium on Nov. 23, before facing Croatia four days later and Morocco on Dec. 1.
Hutchinson, who played in 11 qualifiers, started a Turkish Cup match against Serik Belediyespor and played until the 70th minute.
鈥淔or a guy who hasn鈥檛 played since June in a preseason friendly, I thought his performance through 45 minutes was where it needed to be at this stage,鈥� Herdman said. 鈥淚t was against the second-division team. So sometimes it鈥檚 difficult to see 鈥� the challenge is going to look a bit different when you鈥檝e got (Kevin) De Bruyne, (Axel) Witsel and (Youri) Tielemans in there against Belgium.鈥�
Herdman was hoping to see Hutchinson play only a half.
鈥淲e weren鈥檛 overly excited about Atiba playing extra minutes in this game,鈥� Herdman said. 鈥淗e needed the time to recover.鈥�
Because of Henry鈥檚 injury, Hutchinson could see time in central defense rather than midfield.
鈥淗is experience puts him potentially ahead of some of the other centerbacks,鈥� Herdman said.
Toronto midfielder Jonathan Osorio, who has 56 international appearances, is on the roster after playing 90 minutes in Friday鈥檚 exhibition at Bahrain, his first full match since Aug. 20 after recovering from post-concussion syndrome.
Montreal midfielder Ismael Kon茅 is the youngest player at 20.
鈥淗e鈥檚 definitely holding that 鈥業f you鈥檙e good enough, you鈥檙e old enough鈥� tag,鈥� Herdman said.
Eleven players are from Major League Soccer, including six from Montreal.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a huge advantage,鈥� Herdman said. 鈥淭hese players have fought together in the club environment. They鈥檝e grown in confidence. There鈥檚 obviously some chemistry there. They understand each other鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses.鈥�
Three players are from Toronto and one each from Minnesota and Vancouver. Three are based in Belgium, two each in France, Portugal and Turkey, and one apiece in England, Germany, Greece, Scotland, Serbia and Switzerland.
Players dropped included defenders Zachary Brault-Guillard, Raheem Edwards, Doneil Henry and Lukas MacNaughton (Toronto); midfielder Mathieu Choiniere; and forwards Ayo Akinola, Jayden Nelson and Jacob Shaffelburg.
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Milan Borjan (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia), Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota), James Pantemis (Montreal)
Defenders: Samuel Adekugbe (Hatayspor, Turkey), Derek Cornelius (Panetolikos, Greece), Alistair Johnston (Montreal), Richie Laryea (Toronto), Kamal Miller (Montreal), Steven Vit贸ria (Chaves, Portugal), Joel Waterman (Montreal)
Midfielders: Stephen Eust谩quio (Porto, Portugal), Liam Fraser (Deinze, Belgium), Atiba Hutchinson (Be艧ikta艧, Turkey), Mark-Anthony Kaye (Toronto), Ismael Kone (Montreal), Jonathan Osorio (Toronto), Samuel Piette (Montreal), David Wotherspoon (St Johnstone, Scotland)
Forwards: Tajon Buchanan (Club Brugge, Belgium), Lucas Cavallini (Vancouver); Jonathan David (Lille, France), Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich, Germany), Junior Hoilett (Reading, England), Cyle Larin (Club Brugge, Belgium), Liam Millar (Basel, Switzerland), Ik茅 Ugbo (Troyes, France)
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The Associated Press
