Australia manager Graham Arnold said that it took three scans for Martin Boyle's ACL injury which has ended his Hibs season to come to light.
The winger picked up the problem against St Mirren prior to heading away with the Socceroos for their World Cup campaign in Qatar. His injury had been deemed not a serious one initially and was named in Arnold's squad for the major tournament, before a scan in the middle-east showed it was worse than anticipated.
Boyle is still with his national team but is now in crutches, with his international manager frustrated for Hibs boss Lee Johnson's integral winger. He told Fox: "Martin got that injury probably three weeks ago. He went down to Manchester, he went to Edinburgh, got MRI (scans) and kept feeling it and then he got another MRI here at Aspetar (sports hospital in Doha) and that’s where it got diagnosed as the ACL injury.
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"So it’s very disappointing. But the kid’s in great spirits. He’s a wonderful person and brings great energy to the team.
"Even though he’s missed out on this World Cup, he’s such an important piece in the jigsaw puzzle for us, behind the scenes because he’s just here to support the boys and make them happy.”
After time at Al-Faisaly in Saudi Arabia, Boyle returned to Hibs in the summer and has scored five times in 12 Premiership matches.
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