Kone Undergoes Surgery for Broken Leg

Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone has undergone surgery after sustaining severe fractures to his lower left leg (tibia and fibula) during the World Cup match against Qatar.

"Ismael Kone underwent successful surgery on his lower extremity last night," Canada Soccer announced in a statement, adding:

"He is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the remainder of the 2026 World Cup."

Kone suffered the injury in the 51st minute of the Group B match, with Canada's head coach Jesse Marsch later remarking that he "could hear the bone snap."

"By the time we got to the hospital, he had already received some medication to calm him down a bit. He was preparing to go into surgery. But he was in really good spirits and was adamant that he would be fine," Marsch further stated.

"The surgery took about an hour and a half and involved three surgeons. I think what happened is that the surgeons were watching on TV. They saw what happened and immediately understood. So, they immediately brought in their three best surgeons to take care of him. When he arrived, they were already there and ready. Then we just had to connect with our medical team and make sure that surgery was the best option. After meeting with them and hearing what they had to say about the situation, I saw that he was in really good hands. According to them, the surgery went really well," commented the Canada coach.