Canadian star defender Moise Bombito sidelined again, this time with a broken leg

By Canadian Press on October 6, 2025.

Canadian star defender Moise Bombito has been sidelined by injury, again.

OGC Nice has confirmed the 25-year-old from Montreal suffered a fractured left tibia in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Monaco in French Ligue 1 action.

After a four-month absence following wrist surgery and a tibia stress fracture, Bombito returned to club action Sept. 28 against Paris FC and was due to rejoin Canada for friendlies against Australia and Colombia in the October international window.

But he was carried off the pitch at the Stade Louis-II on a stretcher after falling awkwardly in the 50th minute, trying to corral a long ball from Dutch defender Jordan Teze aimed to put Monaco forward Folarin Balogun behind the defence. The ball bounced off a chasing Bombito’s head and fell in the path of Balogun, who chested it down and kept heading toward goal.

The two tangled before the American striker could launch his shot, with Bombito left on the ground, clutching his lower leg in pain.

Rubbing salt into the wound, Bombito was yellow-carded and Monaco scored from the ensuing penalty to pull even at 2-2.

“We’re thinking of you, Moise,” the Canadian men’s team said in a social media post Sunday.

The Canadian men, who rose to a record No. 26 in the latest FIFA world rankings, host No. 25 Australia in Montreal on Friday before facing No. 14 Colombia on Oct. 14 in Harrison, N.J.

“Really excited that Moise is back,” Canada coach Jesse Marsch said in announcing his roster last week. “Moise is a really mature young player and has established himself at an incredibly high level with Nice.

“An incredibly important player with a big future. And for us, I think that he’s going to prove to be an incredibly important player for the national team as well.”

Bombito, who missed the Canadian Shield, CONCACAF Gold Cup and Canada’s September friendlies, and Derek Cornelius have formed an influential centre-back partnership for Marsch.

Marsch had said he would handle Bombito carefully in his return from the prior injuries.

“We want to make sure that we’re still careful enough with him that we don’t risk any potential injuries,” he said in announcing the roster. “As much as he’s healthy from his wrist and tibia perspective, it’s always a little bit of a danger that when a player comes back after being out for months, that he picks up some muscle injuries.”

Luc de Fougerolles, who turns 20 on Oct. 12, filled in for Bombito in September friendlies.

Canada is already missing injured captain Alphonso Davies, fullback/wingback Alistair Johnston and defender Sam Adekugbe.

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 6, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press