Canada midfielder Ismaël Koné is set for surgery on a broken left leg after a challenge from Qatar's Assim Madibo during Thursday's 6-0 win in Vancouver. The 24-year-old midfielder broke his lower left leg following a challenge from Assim Madibo and was taken to hospital for surgery.
Ismael Koné broke his lower left leg in the second half of Canada's 6-0 win over Qatar at BC Place. The midfielder went down after a challenge from Assim Madibo around the 51st minute and was stretchered off while receiving oxygen.
Coach Jesse Marsch said the bench knew at once how bad it was. "It was right in front of us, and everyone could hear the bone snap," he told reporters.
Marsch confirmed the player had gone straight to hospital. "I haven't spoken to Ismael yet, but he's at the hospital. He will prepare for a surgery," he said, adding that Koné's mother and family were with him.
Despite the agony, Koné sat up on the stretcher and gave a thumbs-up to the crowd. "He was waving to the crowd and almost making everybody else feel at ease," Marsch said.
Madibo's initial yellow card was upgraded to a straight red after a video review, leaving Qatar with nine men. Homam Ahmed had already been dismissed in the first half.
Marsch said Madibo came into the Canada dressing room afterwards to apologise. "So I don't think that he meant such a gruesome situation," the coach said. Jonathan David was more critical of the tackle: "It's just to hurt people."
Koné, who turned 24 on the Tuesday before the match, was scheduled to undergo surgery on the leg. He has 42 international appearances and 4 goals for Canada, and started the full 90 minutes of the 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Marsch framed the loss in blunt terms. "It's a huge loss for us," he said. "He'll be fine. We'll get him good doctors, we'll get him back."
Nathan Saliba replaced Koné and curled in a free kick in the 64th minute, holding up his teammate's jersey in tribute. Canada moved level with Switzerland on four points and face them on 24 June in their final group game.
