Canada's Ismael Kone stretchered off with leg injury in win over Qatar

Ismael Kone exited early in the second half of Canada's 6-0 victory over Qatar on Thursday in Group B in Vancouver, after the Canadian midfielder suffered what appeared to be a serious lower leg injury.

In the 51st minute, Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo attempted a tackle on Kone, but his right foot brought Kone to the ground. Trainers were immediately called onto the pitch as Kone was shown in discomfort before being stretchered off moments later.

After a check of video review, Madibo was shown a red card, Qatar's second of the afternoon, leaving the team with nine players to finish the match.

Kone was replaced by Nathan Saliba, who scored in the 64th minute. Canada improved to 1-0-1 (four points) to tie Switzerland for the top of the group standings, while Qatar dropped to 0-1-1 (1 point).

Kone, who turned 24 on Tuesday, has 42 international appearances and four goals. He came on as a substitute in all three of Canada's World Cup matches in 2022. On June 12, Kone started and played all 90 minutes of Canada's 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He started his professional career at CF Montreal in 2021 before stints at Watford, Marseille, Rennes and Sassuolo, his current club in Serie A in Italy.

--Field Level Media