Socceroos dealt devastating blow as key winger ruled out of FIFA World Cup

Martin Boyle has been ruled out of the World Cup in what coach Graham Arnold described as a devastating blow.

The Socceroos summoned Marco Tilio into their 26-man squad to replace Boyle, who hurt a knee on October 28 playing for his Scottish club Hibernian.

And while creative midfielder Ajdin Hrustic has been cleared of his ankle injury, he won’t start against France in Australia’s cup opener on Wednesday morning, 3am WA time.

Coach Arnold punted on selecting Boyle but the influential speedster hasn’t been able to train with the main squad since arriving in Qatar.

“That is probably the hardest thing, the devastating thing, he has been so important … and has probably been one of our best players right through the whole campaign,” Arnold said.

“But at the end of the day, we can’t do anything about it now.

“It’s devastating news for Martin. But at the end of the day we pretty much knew it was going to be touch and go when we selected him, that is why we brought Tilio over as a standby. But Martin is in great spirits.

“He is going to stay on here and be part of it still and be brings such energy to the camp and to the players.

“And as I said, it’s devastating news for Martin but for Marco Tilio and the rest of the players, it’s all about performance now.”

Boyle’s absence gives 21-year-old Tilio a cup lifeline after being considered unlucky to be overlooked for the original squad.

The Melbourne City winger has been training with the Socceroos in Doha as a standby player.

“He has integrated really well,” Arnold said of Tilio.

Camera Icon Martin Boyle was hurt playing for Hibernian. Credit: Paul Devlin – SNS Group/SNS Group via Getty Images

“I called him obviously to tell him he wasn’t part of the (original) 26 but at the same time he was on standby.

“We were probably, to be honest, 80-20 that Boyle would have been out. “But we had to give him every last minute and every last chance to try and get fit especially because of the sacrifice and everything that he has done through the whole campaign.

“The medical staff have done everything they possibly can and yesterday was pretty much the last chance and it didn’t come through well.”

Attacking midfielder Hrustic hasn’t played since copping an ankle injury on October 3 playing for his Italian club side Hellas Verona.

“Ajdin is fine,” Arnold said.

“He won’t start against France but he is capable of coming off the bench and having an impact but he will ready for sure to start against Tunisia.”

And defender Harry Souttar, pictured, said he can be removed from Arnold’s worrisome injury list.

But concerns remain over a key duo ahead of Australia’s cup opener against reigning champions France on Wednesday morning, WA time.

Camera Icon Martin Boyle of Australia is challenged by Nassar Nassar of Lebanon during the International Friendly Match between the Australian Socceroos and Lebanon at ANZ Stadium on November 20, 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Credit: Matt King/Getty Images

Both have yet to feature in main training when sessions have been open to observers for a brief 15-minute window since they arrived in Qatar.

Boyle and Hrustic have been continuing their rehabilitation away from the main group but Souttar, pictured, says he’s fully recovered from a knee reconstruction.

That followed anterior cruciate ligament damage he suffered in a World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia in Sydney last November.

Souttar spent a year on the sidelines and played just one full senior game for his English championship side Stoke City before landing in Qatar.

“Obviously it was a long 12 months trying to get back fit … but I feel great,” Souttar said.

“I knew it was a bad injury and it was going to mean a long-term one … the first thought I had was ’right, how do you get fit for the World Cup’.”

Souttar’s possible partner in central defence, Kye Rowles, has also declared himself ready after breaking his foot in late August. And Souttar was bullish about Boyle’s prospects of overcoming a knee injury suffered almost three weeks ago.

“Obviously he has had a little setback,” Souttar said.

“But in terms of what he’s doing, I think he’s looking good.”

Melbourne City livewire Marco Tilio has joined the Socceroos as a standby but remains outside the official 26-man squad. FIFA rules permit coach Arnold to replace players suffering from injury or COVID-19 up to 24 hours before their first match.

Ange Postecoglou hopes Graham Arnold’s trailblazing leadership can spark a patriotic fire that sweeps the Socceroos through to the World Cup’s knockout stages.

Arnold is the first Australian-born coach to take the Socceroos to the global showpiece after a succession of European managers took charge either side of Postecoglou’s reign in Brazil eight years ago.

Postecoglou, who who was born in Greece and is proudly Australian, believes having a home-grown coach in Qatar will fuel a deep sense of national pride for the Socceroos.

“Sometimes it’s when you’re a foreign coach, it becomes a little bit of a job. But When it’s your own country, it means a hell of a lot and I’m sure Arnie and all the boys will make the most of it,” he said Postecoglou, who took Australia to the 2014 finals before stepping aside shortly after the team qualified for the 2018 tournament.

“It’s a great honour to lead a country at a World Cup, particularly when it’s your own.

“We always go there to make an impact — so let’s hope the boys can make an impact.

“We go there and try to upset the big guns.”