Australia and Hibernian attacker Martin Boyle has been ruled out of the 2022 World Cup with a knee injury.
The 29-year-old missed Hibs’ last three Scottish Premiership matches before the World Cup after sustaining the injury against St Mirren on October 29.
Despite this, Boyle was called up to the Socceroos squad for the 2022 World Cup, with coach Graham Arnold optimistic that the striker will recover in time for the tournament.
However, Martin Boyle has not recovered sufficiently and has been forced to withdraw from the team, which Arnold termed as a “cruel blow” to a player who shone for Australia in qualification.
“We all feel for Martin and it is a cruel blow for him on the eve of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™,” Arnold told socceroos.com.au.
“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.”
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Martin Boyle scored three goals and contributed four assists in 13 qualifying matches for Australia, however he was forced to miss the 2019 Asian Cup due to knee surgery.
The Hibs attacker has five goals and six assists in 18 senior international appearances and will be replaced in the squad by Melbourne City winger Marco Tilio.
The 21-year-old had travelled to Qatar on Tuesday in case Boyle was forced to withdraw, and he has five caps for the Socceroos since making his debut in January.
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