Martin Boyle is facing a race to be fit to represent Australia at the World Cup after the Hibernian star missed another day of training, which has prompted Socceroos boss Graham Arnold to fly in a replacement.
Boyle has been recovering from a knee injury sustained during a Scottish Premiership clash with St Mirren on October 29 and hasn't featured since. Hibs manager Lee Johnson was increasingly confident of Boyle's chances of being fit to join up with his national team in Qatar, however it appears next Tuesday's Group D opener against France could come too soon for the 29-year-old.
FIFA rules state that a change to the squad can be made 24 hours before a country’s first match and that has prompted Arnold to hand Marco Tilio an opportunity with the 21-year-old Melbourne City winger set to integrate into the camp. 19-times capped Boyle was at the heart of Australia's journey to qualify for the tournament and is regarded as a key player for the Socceroos as they look to progress through a section that also includes Denmark and Tunisia.
Hearts and Australia midfielder Cammy Devlin revealed that Boyle would be a massive loss but remains confident that his absence from training is just a precautionary measure.
“Over the years everyone can see what a big player he is,” Devlin admitted. “He does it week in, week out over in Scotland for Hibs. He’s been a massive player for them and takes it into his country, Australia. He’d be a massive loss, but I think it’s just precautionary because we’ve got the first game in a week. But if he wasn’t to play he’d be a massive loss.”
Hibs will be eagerly waiting on the outcome of his rehabilitation process as their results have suffered significantly while Boyle has been sidelined. They have lost three consecutive games and conceded seven goals in the process while scoring just once.
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