Pivotal Socceroos attacker Riley McGree has been ruled out of the World Cup in a hammer blow to Australia's hopes.
McGree, who is among Australia's most creative and influential players, hurt his left hamstring in Middlesbrough's 1-0 loss to Hull City in the English Championship playoff final on Saturday.
Key attacker McGree was forced off in the 76th minute at Wembley Stadium after pulling up from a challenge - just three weeks out from Australia's opening group stage match against Turkey.
McGree was distraught and put his face into his hands before coming off and immediately looked unlikely for the World Cup finals.
His absence was confirmed when the 27-year-old was not among the players called into camp on Tuesday ahead of warm-up friendlies against Mexico on May 31 and Switzerland on June 7.
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