Kone, who suffered multiple fractures in his left leg during the match against Qatar, is expected to make a full recovery.
Published June 19, 2026
Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone suffered a severe fracture in his lower left leg during Thursday’s game against Qatar and underwent surgery.
“Last night, Ismael Cohn underwent successful surgery to repair a fractured leg,” Canada Soccer said in a statement Friday. “He is expected to make a full recovery but will miss the remainder of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.”
Cohn underwent surgery to repair his tibia and fibula in Vancouver, which Canada won 6-0.
Kone was injured in the 51st minute of the Group B match. Qatari midfielder Asim Madibo attempted a tackle, but Kone fell to the ground with his right foot. Kone was clearly in discomfort and a trainer was immediately called to the pitch, where he was quickly carried off on a stretcher.
Kone was sitting on a stretcher, breathing oxygen, and giving fans a thumbs up.
“You could hear bones breaking,” Canadian coach Jesse Marsh said after the game.
On Friday, Marsh spoke about his condition at the hospital.
“By the time we got to him, he was already on medication to sedate him a little bit,” Marsh told a news conference. “He was getting ready to go into the operating room, but he was in great spirits and insisted he was absolutely fine.
“(The surgery) took about an hour and a half, and there were three surgeons. I think what happened was that the surgeons watched the surgery on TV and saw what happened and knew right away. So they immediately brought their top three surgeons to the hospital to treat him.”
“So by the time he arrived, the surgeon was on site and ready to go. And we just had to communicate with the medical team and make sure that the surgery was the best option we thought. But once we met with them and talked to them about the situation, we could see that he was taking really good care of it. So the surgery they said went really well.”
A video review of the play resulted in Madibo being shown his second red card of the game, leaving his team with nine players at the end of the game. Madibo later apologized to Cohn.
Canada and Switzerland met in Vancouver on Wednesday, with both teams each with four points after the first two games. The third match will determine the winner of Group B.
Nathan Saliba, who scored Canada’s fourth goal in place of the injured Cohn, celebrated by running to the sideline holding up a replica of Cohn’s Canada shirt and pointing to No. 8.
