Canada's Marcelo Flores will miss this summer's World Cup after sustaining a knee injury with his club. The 22-year-old winger ruptured the ACL in his right knee during a CONCACAF Champions Cup match on Saturday.
Injury details
Flores went down in the 77th minute while playing for Tigres UNAL against Toluca. He left the field in tears as his club lost in a shootout. The Georgetown, Ontario native was diagnosed with an ACL tear the same evening.
The timing is brutal: Flores had just earned a spot on Canada's 26-player World Cup roster on Friday.
Teammates react
"Obviously we're devastated for him," head coach Jesse Marsch said Sunday. "Our hearts are with him. He's in good spirits and already focused on getting healthy."
The team was eating dinner together when the y watched Flores crumple to the turf. Vice captain Stephen Eustáquio said several players recognized the severity immediately.
"He was very important for us, as a person as well as a player," Eustáquio said.
Roster situation
Flores made only two appearances for Canada—both in March—after switching allegiance from Mexico in November. He wasn't at Canada's training camp in Charlotte, N.C., last week.
World Cup rules allow roster replacements up to 24 hours before the first kickoff. Marsch said Sunday he hasn't decided on a replacement.
Three players who didn't make Friday's final cuts remain with the team: Sporting Kansas City's Zorhan Bassong, Austin FC's Jayden Nelson, and Vancouver Whitecaps' Ralph Priso. Marsch could also recall a previously cut player or someone who missed camp.
The injury adds Flores to a growing list of walking wounded ahead of the tournament. Captain Alphonso Davies is expected to join the team Monday in Edmonton but likely won't be ready for Canada's opener June 12 against Bosnia-Herzegovina in Toronto.
"We have extra motivation to go through this World Cup to make him proud as all Canadians," Eustáquio said. "Hopefully at some stage he can meet us and give us his strength."
Marsch said he's invited Flores to be around the team during the tournament after his surgery.