Ismaël Koné has undergone successful surgery to repair the fracture in his left leg that he suffered during Canada’s historic 6-0 World Cup victory over Qatar, Canada Soccer has announced.
Koné, 24, was taken to hospital after being caught from behind by Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo in the 51st minute at BC Place in Vancouver during Thursday’s group-stage game.
“Last night, Ismaël Koné underwent successful surgery to repair a lower limb fracture,” a statement from Canada Soccer read on Friday. “He is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the remainder of FIFA World Cup 2026.”
“By the time we got to him, he’d already had some drugs to help sedate him a little bit,” Canada head coach Jesse Marsch said at a news conference following Canada Soccer’s announcement. “He was being prepared to go into the operation 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.
“So by the time he got there, the surgeons were there and they were ready. And then we just had to communicate with our medical team and make sure that the surgery was the best option that we thought. But I could see by meeting them and hearing what they had to say about the situation that they he was in really good hands. So the surgery they said went really well.”
Kone was embraced by Canada head coach Marsch while he went off on a stretcher (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images)
Koné’s club, Italian team Sassuolo, added on Friday: “The operation to repair the fracture in his left leg was a complete success. The player will begin his rehabilitation programme in the coming days.
“The whole club sends Ismaël their best wishes for a speedy recovery.”
Koné had started both of Canada’s group matches. Marsch cannot call up another outfield player to replace Koné due to World Cup regulations — an injury replacement for an outfield player had to be made 24 hours before Canada’s opening match.
Koné had received the ball near the touchline and was turning away from pressure when Madibo arrived late from behind, catching his lower left leg. The challenge occurred a few feet from the Canada bench and Koné fell to the ground and grabbed his leg.
Medical staff rushed onto the pitch, while Canada full-back Richie Laryea confronted Madibo and arguments broke out between the teams.
Canada were leading 3-0 and Qatar were already down to 10 players after defender Homam Al-Amin had been dismissed in the 33rd minute for bringing down Canada winger Tajon Buchanan and denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity. Madibo was initially booked, but the decision was upgraded to a red card following a video assistant referee review, reducing Qatar to nine players.
Nathan Saliba held up Koné’s shirt after scoring against Qatar (Reuters /Lee Smith TPX Images of the day)
“You could hear the bone snap,” Canada head coach Jesse Marsch said after the game. “Your heart goes out to him. Everybody’s shaken for him.
“I don’t think he (Madibo) meant such a gruesome situation. I don’t fault him for that.”
Midfielder Nathan Saliba replaced Koné and scored the fourth goal around 10 minutes later, celebrating by holding his team-mate’s No 8 shirt above his head.
Canada face Switzerland on Wednesday knowing a draw would secure top spot in Group B.
How Canada may replace Kone
Marsch and Canada will look to Saliba as the direct replacement for Kone. Saliba and Kone are close friends and the 22-year-old can deliver the kind of quality and directness that Kone can.
But important to note: Niko Sigur, who often plays fullback for Canada, will likely move to central midfield to provide creativity in the middle of the park.
Marsch, though, acknowledged after the Qatar game that there is no like-for-like replacement for Kone, who “can do things that no other player can do.”
