Marcelo Flores has given Canada a major scare ahead of the World Cup after he exited the field with a non-contact injury in the second half of Tigres’ Concacaf Champions Cup final against Toluca on Saturday.
Flores was dribbling inside the opponent’s box before seemingly catching his foot on the grass and falling to the ground while clutching his right knee. The Tigres medical staff helped the player off the field, with Flores unable to put any weight on his right leg.
Flores suffered the injury just 15 minutes after being substituted into the match in the second half.
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Canada coach Jesse Marsch named Flores to his 26-player World Cup roster on Friday. The squad was headlined by Alphonso Davies, who is himself in a race to be fit for Canada’s opening game against Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 12 in Toronto.
Flores initially chose to represent Mexico at 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.
Marsch first called up Flores for the January window but he was unable to take part in the camp as his change of association had yet to be finzalized.
Flores finally debuted with Canada during the March international window, featuring in the games against Iceland and Tunisia.
Canada is co-hosting the World Cup with the United States and Mexico. The Canadians are in Group B along with Switzerland, Qatar and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which eliminated Italy in the European playoffs.
