Canada national team head coach Jesse Marsch, after the victory over Qatar, spoke about the severe injury of midfielder Ismaël Koné. In the 52nd minute, the player suffered a leg fracture, which will sideline him for 4-5 months.
“I haven’t spoken to Ismaël yet, but he is in the hospital,” Marsch said at the post-match press conference. “He will be preparing for surgery. I will go to see him after this press conference. We will definitely decide what to do with him. His family is with him in the hospital, so his mother and the whole family are there.
Listen, it happened right in front of the bench. We all heard his leg break. I immediately realized it looked like the injury Tajon Buchanan had in training in 2024.
So we all sympathize with him, and everyone is a bit shaken by what happened because of the nature of the injury, and also because Ismaël is an important part of our team. This will be a big loss for us. He has been an amazing player in the last two matches.”
But look, you also saw how he waved to the crowd and almost calmed everyone else down despite the injury, and that says incredible things about Ismaël as a person. That’s the kind of team we have. I have been trying for two years to tell people about the special character of this group, and it shows both in tough moments and moments of triumph. I think today was a reflection of all that.
Everyone was shocked when it happened, but we needed to find a way to stay focused. We knew Ismaël wanted us to see it through,” ESPN quotes the Canadian coach.
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