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Kone Undergoes Successful Surgery, Will Miss Rest Of World Cup
By Following his gutwrenching lower leg fracture against Qatar last night, Canadian midfielder Ismael Kone has undergone successful surgery and is expected to make a full recovery.
Unfortunately, the 24-year-old’s time on the pitch at this World Cup has come to an end as he now begins a recovery that will last many months.
The midfielder’s tib-fib fracture came as he was fouled by Qatar’s Assim Madib, who appeared distraught following the accident and directly apologized to Kone in the dressing room following his own red card dismissal.
Kone was transported to hospital straight from the stadium, uniting with his family and – following Canada’s six-nil thrashing of nine-man Qatar – teammate Moise Bombito too, before undergoing surgery last night.
Bombito, whose initial inclusion in the World Cup squad was in some doubt as he recovered from his own leg break from October, will have known exactly what Kone was going through.
Marsch told media that three orthopedic surgeons had been watching the match on television and came straight to the hospital following Kone’s televised injury.
“We could all hear it. I knew right away it was similar to when Tajon got hurt in training, it was right in front of us, and everyone could hear the bone snap,” reflected Marsch after the match.
“Your heart goes out to him, and everybody’s a little shaken by the whole experience, because of the nature of the injury, and also because Ismail is a big part of the heart of our team.”
The midfielder is a core part of the Canadian squad, with the Sassuolo man locking down the middle of the park alongside captain Stephen Eustaquio.
The Canadian squad is in a flux state of players recovering from long-term injuries, knocks, and niggled galore, with Kone being the second of two World Cup squad members now ruled out through serious injury. The first had been Marcelo Flores, who ruptured his ACL following the World Cup squad’s initial unveiling.
In Marcelo’s case, there was still time to replace him with Jayden Nelson ahead of Canada’s World Cup opener. With the tournament now underway, however, Canada cannot call up a replacement for Kone.
So, who can fans expect to start in his place? In yesterday’s game, Nathan Saliba stepped in to replace Kone for the remainder of the match, scoring a goal and paying respect to his injured teammate first with a number 8 hand gesture during his celebration, and then by lifting Kone’s kit for all to see.
The message was clear: this, and everything to follow, will be the Canadians fighting for their fallen brother.
Canada was all gas and no breaks after Kone’s exit, dispatching Qatar in an absolute demolition – something that left things heated between Marsch and the coaching staff, a moment which he declined to comment on after the match.
“What you guys did yesterday will stay with me forever,” said Kone online today. “I’ll be back very soon and we will continue making more memories together.”
Kone, sounding in good spirits under the circumstances, even joked that he will turn into an assistant coach to support them from the sideline, saying that his brotherhood with the squad is everything to him.
The historic World Cup match win – Canada’s first, and also the largest ever seen from a Concacaf nation at the tournament – left the country top of the group and almost certain to advance out of the group stage for the first time ever.
Where they finish in the group depends on match three against Switzerland, arguably the toughest match of the bunch.
“That’s what this team is all about, it really is a brotherhood,” added Alistair Johnston. “So it’s really difficult to see one of your brothers go down. But, look, if we needed any extra motivation for this tournament, we got it now.”
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Header Image Photo Credit: John Jacques
