Canada's Kone stretchered off vs. Qatar with apparent broken leg

Canada midfielder Ismael Kone was stretchered off in the second half of Thursday's World Cup win over Qatar with a serious leg injury.

Kone went down after a tackle from Qatar's Assim Madibo, with a hush descending over Vancouver Stadium as the players and crowd realized the severity of the injury. Kone appeared to suffer a broken leg.

Canadian players were visibly emotional as they gathered around the 24-year-old on the field. Madibo, who had his hands on his head upon seeing Kone's leg, was shown a red card, reducing Qatar to nine men.

Canada coach Jesse Marsch said that Madibo went into the dressing room after the match to apologize about the incident, according to TSN's Claire Hanna.

Canada Soccer said Kone was being transported to a local hospital after having his leg stabilized, according to the TSN broadcast.

"Such a great kid," Marsch, who was in tears talking to his players after seeing the injury on the field, said of Kone after the match.

Marsch called Kone's expected absence a "huge loss" for his team.

Canada led 3-0 at the time of the injury following a trio of first-half goals.

Nathan Saliba replaced Kone and promptly scored a free-kick to make it 4-0, celebrating by holding up his injured teammate's jersey.

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Canada eventually rolled to an emphatic 6-0 win, as Jonathan David completed a hat-trick in the final minutes to cap the nation's first-ever victory at a men's World Cup.