Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training for this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the Nations League quarter-finals of CONCACAF against Suriname.

The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ontario, underwent surgery on July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.

Canada, ranked 35th in the world, will play 136th-ranked Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the added series will be four days later at BMO Field in Toronto.

There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut in Canadian charge. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.

Midfielder Ismael Kone also returns, recovered from an ankle injury suffered while playing with French club Marseille. He missed Canada’s last three games since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.

But Canada will be without center back Derek Cornelius, who was stretchered off from Marseille’s Sunday win over Nantes after suffering an apparent rib injury.

The Canadians will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

“We hope to get the group back together with the mentality that a trophy is at stake,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to finish 2024 on the right note with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname team and continue to build on our tremendous growth last summer.”

The winners of the quarterfinals advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff on March 23. and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian squad are 25 years old or younger, the youngest being defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, 19, who currently plays for Crewe Alexandra in England on loan from Bristol City.

Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the team with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller providing veteran support.

Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.

Niko Sigur, 21-year-old midfielder for Croatian Hadjuk Split, remains in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.

Suriname reached the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second behind Costa Rica in Nations League Group A, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These matches are always complicated and they are not easy at all… Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they will have Dutch players playing at high levels.”

“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 caps for Canada to his name.

Located on the northeast coast of South America, between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname gained independence from the Netherlands in 1975.

Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifiers, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.

The Canadians, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a direct pass to the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Nations League.

Canada, number 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, tied with Suriname as the second best ranked in League A.

Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinals, eliminated by the away goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the United States in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.

Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time, in a friendly on October 15 in Toronto.

Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio participated in a precamp in Toronto this week for players based in North America.

Canada List

Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).

Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).

Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Esteban Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique de Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).

Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.