By Canadian Press

Canada coach Jesse Marsch calls in Zorhan Bassong to replace injured Richie Laryea

Mar 17, 2025 | 8:51 AM

Sporting Kansas City’s Zorhan Bassong has replaced the injured fullback/wingback Richie Laryea on Canada’s roster ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League Finals.

The 31st-ranked Canadians face No. 19 Mexico on Thursday in semifinal action at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the winner moving on to take on either the 16th-ranked U.S. or No. 36 Panama in Sunday’s final.

Laryea was always a longshot to regain his fitness in time after suffering a hamstring injury March 1 in Toronto FC’s 4-2 loss at Orlando City. He has not played since.

Canada coach Jesse Marsch still named Laryea to his roster, saying he wanted to give him as much time as possible to recover.

On Monday, Canada Soccer announced Laryea “was deemed not fit ahead of travel into camp and will stay with Toronto FC to continue his recovery process.”

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The move was not unexpected given Toronto coach Rob Fraser said Friday that Laryea was dealing with a “medium-term injury.”

“I don’t want to put a timeline on it because it could be shorter, it could be longer … It won’t be this week or next week,” said Fraser.

Bassong, a 25-year-old from Montreal, has won two caps for Canada.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2025

The Canadian Press