May 31 (Reuters) – Canadian midfielder Marcelo Flores will miss the World Cup after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament while playing for Tigres UANL.
The 22-year-old was injured in Saturday’s Concacaf Champions Cup final, going down without contact in the 77th minute and clutching his right leg before leaving the pitch in tears.
Flores confirmed the injury on social media.
“My ACL is gone,” he wrote on Sunday. “I wanted to say thank you to everyone and all the messages. I haven’t been on my phone or checked messages, but I promise to get around to everyone and I really appreciate the concerns. I’ll be back stronger.”
Canadian coach Jesse Marsch told reporters on Sunday that he and the team were “devastated” by the news.
Marsch had named Flores in his 26-man World Cup squad on Friday, with other key players including Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies still working back to full fitness.
Flores was born in Canada to a Mexican father, making him eligible to play for either country. He switched allegiance from Mexico to Canada earlier this year, and featured for Canada in games against Iceland and Tunisia.
Canada face Uzbekistan in a friendly in Edmonton on Monday. They open their World Cup campaign against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 in Toronto.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
