Fresh off their first ever World Cup victory, Canada’s men’s team trained at the National Soccer Development Centre at UBC Friday morning without midfielder Ismaël Koné, who suffered a gruesome broken leg during Thursday’s match against Qatar. “He had a tib-fib fracture, but they did the surgery last night,” said head coach Jesse Marsch, who added three top orthopedic surgeons who were watching the game on TV saw Koné being wheeled off the pitch on a stretcher and immediately rushed to Vancouver General Hospital to operate on the 24-year-old from Montreal. “He sent a video message to the guys, so he was in good spirits. Everything’s gone well, as well as it could be,” said Marsch. “There’s going to be guys that go visit him today at the hospital. We think he’s going to stay one more night. We have a family barbecue today, it’ll be a bummer that Ismaël won’t be here. But hopefully his family will still be around, and everyone can support them in the right way.” Goaltender Max Crepeau said it was difficult to celebrate Canada’s 6-0 victory knowing Kone was badly injured in hospital. “Even in the locker room yesterday, it was a bittersweet feeling,” Crepeau said. “The adrenaline will come back down in the next couple of hours and days. We have to be there for him.” As Koné begins his recovery, his team is focusing on preparing for their final group stage match against Switzerland next Wednesday without him. “He’s been an incredible player, maybe our best player in the tournament so far. And he’s also a big personality in the group. So we’ll manage it, but it won’t be easy,” said Marsch. The 19th-ranked Swiss squad is expected to present a much bigger challenge than Qatar. “Switzerland is a very good, organized European side, quality players as well. We respect them in their football,” said Crepeau. “It will look more like a game that we played in France, you know, that type of football.” “We’re going to try to maintain normalcy and focus on the task at hand. And we have a big opportunity ahead of us to win the group, which I think really sets us up for success in the knockout rounds,” said Marsch. If Canada can manage a draw against Switzerland, they will sit atop Group B and their round of 32 knock out match will be played in front of a cheering home crowd at BC Place. “It was probably the best sports crowd I’ve ever seen,” said Marsch of Thursday’s match. “So that part was absolutely a boost, and it will be essential for us to continue to make a run. I think after that experience, the guys are more motivated than ever to make sure that we stay here.”
