AUSSIES VOW TO DO IT FOR BOYLE
THE Socceroos will use the cruel injury withdrawal of Martin Boyle as motivation.
Boyle finally succumbed on Sunday to a knee injury that had threatened his campaign from the moment he limped off the pitch for Scottish club Hibernian three weeks ago, ending a painful battle to prove himself to Graham Arnold and the team medical staff.
He’s been replaced by Melbourne City youngster Marco Tilio in the 26-man squad, but will stay in camp as much for his energy around the group as anything.
But equally, it’s because he deserves it.
A champion of Australia’s successful qualification campaign, scoring five times in his 19 appearances for the Socceroos, Boyle is a popular member of the squad and will remain central to their push to reach the knockout stages for just the second time in history.
“Now it’s clear that he’s not going to be a part of it, we’re all sad for him because he did so much and contributed so much for getting us here,” said Mat Leckie. “It’s just another reason for us to do it for him.”
The Socceroos were informed of Boyle’s withdrawal on Sunday afternoon in Doha, but Leckie had a deeper insight than most of how fraught the winger’s battle to overcome the knee injury truly was.
As roommates, Leckie saw how desperate Boyle had been to prove his fitness and compete in a World Cup which, at 29, may have been his last chance to prove himself in football’s showpiece event.
He’s seen up close how Boyle has ridden the emotional rollercoaster.
“He gave everything he could to try to get himself fit,” he said. “He wanted to give it a real crack and it was just not meant to be.”