Luis Montes scores before serious leg injury, Mexico tops Ecuador 3-1 in World Cup tuneup

Mexico's Luis Montes celebrates after scoring against Ecuador in the first half of a friendly soccer match, Saturday, May 31, 2014, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) (The Associated Press)

Mexico's Luis Montes collides with Ecuador's Segundo Castillo, rear, as the two were competing for the ball during the first half of a friendly soccer match, Saturday, May 31, 2014, in Arlington, Texas. Montes left the game on a stretcher with an unknown leg injury. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) (The Associated Press)

Luis Montes scored two minutes before a leg injury sent him to the hospital, helping Mexico beat Ecuador 3-1 Saturday in the first of three tuneups in the U.S. leading to the World Cup.

Montes drove a left-footed shot into the lower left corner of the net from just outside the top of the goal box after a pass from Oribe Peralta in the 33rd minute.

Shortly after the goal, Montes and Ecuador's Segundo Castillo became entangled and went down chasing a loose ball. Castillo limped off the field and didn't return. Montes never got up.

Montes, a key member of El Tri's midfield, covered his face as he was carried off on a stretcher to cheers from the pro-Mexican crowd of 84,876 at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

The club said he was being examined for a possible fracture of his lower right leg. Castillo was hospitalized for further evaluation of a right knee injury.