Canada and Tigres UANL winger Marcelo Flores ruptured his ACL during the Concacaf Champions Cup final against Toluca on Saturday and will miss the 2026 World Cup.
“Sorry, I haven’t gotten back to anyone yet, really rough times. My ACL is gone,” Flores posted on social media. “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.”
Flores was dribbling inside the opponent’s box before seemingly catching his foot on the grass and falling to the ground with pain in the right leg. The Tigres medical staff supported Flores off the field, with Flores unable to put any weight on his the leg.
The player suffered the injury just 15 minutes after being substituted into the match in the second half.
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Canada manager Jesse Marsch confirmed the diagnosis on Sunday at a news conference, saying he and the team were devastated for Flores.
Marsch had just named Flores to the 26-player World Cup roster on Friday, alongside Alphonso Davies and Stephen Eustáquio.
Flores initially chose to represent Mexico on an international level before filing a FIFA one-time switch to join the Canadian men’s national team. The Tigres player was born in Canada to a Mexican father, making him eligible to represent both countries.
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Marsch originally called up Flores for the January window to participate in the friendly against Guatemala, but he couldn’t take part in the camp given his change of association had not been completed.
Flores finally debuted with Canada during the March international window, featuring in the games against Iceland and Tunisia.
