Martin Boyle has self-imposed himself as Australia's 'vibe manager' after the Hibernian star's World Cup dream was ended through injury.
Boyle was already facing a race to be fit to feature for Graham Arnold's side, who are matched in Group D with holders France, Denmark and Tunisia, having suffered a problem with his knee during a Scottish Premiership clash three weeks ago. He had been hopeful of completing his rehab in time but only managed light training in Qatar separate from the rest of the squad before it was confirmed on Sunday morning that the 29-year-old would have to withdraw from the squad despite the best efforts from the medical teams at Hibs and his national team.
The Scotland -born winger has been replaced in squad by Melbourne City's Marco Tilio - who was flown in on Tuesday in the event Boyle was unable to recover in time. And in a social media post Boyle admitted he was "gutted" at the blow but was remaining grateful that he is allowed to remain with the Socceroos camp as he attempts to play his part from the sidelines. He wrote: “Not really sure I can put this into words how gutted I am to withdraw from the World Cup squad. Gave it my all to be fit and it just wasn’t to be this time unfortunately!
“Extremely proud to have been selected and to have played my part in qualifying for the tournament. Grateful to be kept in camp and show my full support to the lads on and off the field and to experience the whole World Cup! Will no doubt be back stronger than ever but for now my full focus is on being the vibe manager for the lads!”
Australia head coach Arnold also reacted to what he deems a "cruel blow" with Boyle key to the Socceroos earning qualification to the tournament but he confirmed Tilio is a capable deputy after an impressive start to the A-League.
“We all feel for Martin and it is a cruel blow for him," said Arnold. "He has been an integral part of our journey to get to Qatar and we thank him for everything he has given the Socceroos during this campaign. We also thank his club, who have done everything possible from their end to try and help. He will be back and we can’t wait to see him in the green and gold again next year.
"Marco has done everything that has been asked of him to be ready for this tournament. He was an important member of our Tokyo 2020 Olympic team, he has started the A-League Men's season well and he is familiar with the national team set-up and we are looking forward to what he can bring to our squad for the tournament."
The devastating news means Boyle, who has five goals from 19 caps to date, is yet to represent his adopted country at a major tournament, having also been ruled out just days before Australia were set to defend the 2019 Asian Cup in the United Arab Emirates after picking up a knee injury during a warm-up friendly against Oman.
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