Canada’s Kone undergoes major leg surgery; to miss rest of World Cup

Kone is expected to make full recovery after breaking his left leg, with multiple fractures, in the match against Qatar.Canada midfielder Ismael Kone underwent surgery to repair severe fractures in his lower left leg that occurred in Thursday’s match against Qatar.“Last night, Ismael Kone underwent successful surgery to repair a lower limb fracture,” Canada-soccer" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="97353" data-entity-type="organization">Canada Soccer said in a statement on Friday. “He is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the remainder of FIFA World Cup 2026.”Kone underwent surgery to repair the tibia and fibula bones in Vancouver, the site of Canada’s 6-0 victory.Kone was injured in the 51st minute of the Group B match. Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo attempted a tackle, but his right foot brought Kone to the ground. Trainers were immediately called onto the pitch as Kone was in visible discomfort before being stretchered off moments later.Sitting up on the stretcher, Kone gave a thumbs-up sign to the fans while taking oxygen.After the match, Canada coach Jesse Marsch said he “could hear the bone snap.”On Friday, Marsch described the scene at the hospital.“By the time we got to him, he’d already had some drugs to help sedate him a little bit,” Marsch said at a news conference. “He was being prepared to go into the operating room. But he was in really good spirits and he was adamant that he’s going to be fine.“[The surgery] took about an hour and a half and they had three surgeons. I think what happened is the surgeons watched it on TV and they saw what happened and they knew right away. And so they brought their top three surgeons to the hospital immediately to take care of him.