MILAN (AP) — Switzerland forward Kevin Fiala is out for the rest of the Milan Cortina Olympics after undergoing surgery on his injured left leg.
Fiala was taken off the ice on a stretcher late in Switzerland's game against Canada on Friday. The Swiss Ice Hockey Federation on Saturday called it a lower leg injury that was ending his time at the Games, and a spokesperson confirmed that Fiala had surgery.
Neither Switzerland nor the Los Angeles Kings would confirm exactly what the operation was or that it is likely to end his season in the NHL, as well.
“Very obviously sad, and it sucks for him and for us,” Kings teammate Adrian Kempe said after Sweden's game against Slovakia. “It’s really tough for him personally and for us as a team. You know how much he means to our team back home in L.A . It’s just very unfortunate for him that it comes in a tournament like this that we’ve been looking forward to playing in for so long. I feel for him.”
The 29-year-old winger went down when he collided with Tom Wilson with just under three minutes left in Canada's 5-1 victory.
Fiala backed into a hit on Wilson near the boards, their legs got tangled up and both players fell to the ice. Fiala couldn't get up and after a stoppage in play medical personnel attended to him.
“Just unlucky,” Wilson said after the game. "He’s a competitor, obviously. At this point, it’s the Olympic Games, and I feel terrible that he may not be able to keep playing and just sending his family and him my best. You never want to see a guy go down in a tournament like this, especially. It sucks for the country, for their team, and just wishing him a quick recovery.”
Fiala was placed face down on a stretcher, and his left leg appeared to be in an air cast as he was wheeled out.
“Tough moment for Kevin and the whole team, obviously,” Switzerland coach Patrick Fischer said.
No penalty was assessed on the play.
“It was an accident,” Fischer said.
Fiala is in his 12th NHL season and fourth with the Kings. He has 40 points in 56 games this season.
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Injured Switzerland's Kevin Fiala is stretchered off the ice by paramedics, during a preliminary round match of men's ice hockey between Canada and Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/The Canadian Press via AP)
Injured Switzerland's Kevin Fiala lays on the ice after being hit by Canada's Tom Wilson, second left, during a preliminary round match of men's ice hockey between Canada and Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada's Sam Bennett, left, challenges Switzerland's Kevin Fiala during a preliminary round match of men's ice hockey between Canada and Switzerland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Alabama on Wednesday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to use a congressional map favoring Republicans in this year's elections, despite a lower court's ruling that the redistricting plan intentionally discriminates against Black people.
The state's Republican leadership filed an emergency appeal with the justices a day after a three-judge court refused to let the state use a map it adopted three years ago that has a majority Black population in just one of its seven congressional districts.
The judges instead required Alabama to continue using a court-ordered map that was put in place for the 2024 elections that includes two districts where Black residents comprise a majority or close to it.
Attorney General Steve Marshall told the court that the state did not intentionally discriminate against Black residents and should be allowed to hold elections this year under a map chosen by lawmakers, not judges.
The appeal is the latest development in the fallout from last month's Supreme Court ruling that struck down a Black-majority district in Louisiana and weakened the federal Voting Rights Act. That ruling has led Republicans in several Southern states, including Alabama, to take steps to reshape voting districts with large minority populations that have elected Democrats.
The redistricting frenzy is part of a broader push by President Donald Trump to try to hold on to Republicans’ slim House majority in the November elections.
The Alabama cases stretches back several years. The three-judge panel in 2023 ruled that a map drawn by Republican state lawmakers intentionally diluted the voting power of Black citizens. The court said the state, which is about 27% Black, should have two districts where Black voters are the majority or close to it. The court-selected map was used in 2024.
After the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in the Louisiana case, Alabama officials moved to implement the 2023 state-drawn map. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority agreed to lift the injunction that had blocked the map’s use and sent the case back to the three-judge panel for reconsideration in light of the Louisiana ruling.
In the meantime, voters cast ballots in Alabama’s May 19 primaries, and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey set new special primaries for Aug. 11 in four congressional districts affected by the map switch.
Upon further review, the judicial panel said it was standing behind its initial finding that there was “undisputed evidence” of intentional racial discrimination, a holding that was independent of and unaffected by the Supreme Court ruling on the Voting Rights Act.
It said the special congressional primaries should instead proceed under the previous court-approved districts.
The use of the court-ordered map led to the 2024 election of U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, a Black Democrat. State Republicans are seeking to use a map that would give the GOP an opportunity to reclaim the south Alabama seat.
The state is asking for Supreme Court action by Monday as it makes preparations for the special vote in August.
This story has been corrected to show the Alabama primaries were May 19, not May 11.
Associated Press writer Kim Chandler contributed to this report from Montgomery, Ala.
Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.
FILE - Shomari Figures, who is running for Alabama's 2nd Congressional District, speaks during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 22, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
A statue titled the "Authority of Law" sits in front of the Supreme Court on Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
The Supreme Court is seen in Washington, Monday, May 18, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
