Australia and Hibernian attacker Martin Boyle has been ruled out of the 2022 World Cup after failing to recover from a knee injury.
The 29-year-old did not feature in any of Hibs' final three Scottish Premiership matches before the World Cup after picking up the problem against St Mirren on October 29.
Nevertheless, Boyle was called up to the Socceroos' squad for the 2022 World Cup, with Graham Arnold hoping that the striker would shake off the issue in time for the tournament.
However, Boyle has failed to recover sufficiently and has now been forced to pull out of the squad, which Arnold described 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.
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"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."
Boyle scored three goals and provided four assists in 13 qualifying matches for Australia, and he was also forced to miss the 2019 Asian Cup due to knee surgery.
The Hibs attacker has a total of five goals and six assists from 18 senior international appearances, and his spot in the squad will be taken by Melbourne City winger Marco Tilio.
The 21-year-old had made the journey to Qatar on Tuesday in case Boyle was forced to withdraw, and he has already earned five caps for the Socceroos since making his debut in January.
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Tilio was also selected for Australia's squad for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and Arnold is confident that the youngster can deliver on the biggest stage for his country.
"Marco has done everything that has been asked of him to be ready for this tournament," the Socceroos boss added.
"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."
Australia are preparing to meet France, Denmark and Tunisia in Group D of the World Cup and begin their tournament against the reigning champions on Tuesday.
Arnold's team will then do battle with Tunisia on November 26 before rounding off their run in Group D with a clash against Denmark on November 30.
Ben Knapton
