Riley McGree's hopes of appearing at a second World Cup are hanging in the balance after the key attacker hobbled off with an apparent hamstring injury on a heartbreaking day for the Australian and his Middlesbrough teammates at Wembley.
With just three weeks remaining before the Socceroos kick off their tournament against Turkey, the 27-year-old pulled up clutching the back of his leg in the 72nd minute of Boro's last-gasp Championship playoff final defeat to Hull City.
McGree briefly played on before being substituted, leaving the 27-year-old to watch on from the bench as his team conceded deep in injury time to shatter their dreams of reaching the Premier League – and set the alarm bells ringing for Socceroos coach Tony Popovic.
As an inverted winger, McGree has become a fixture in Popovic's attacking plans, and the former Adelaide United player is highly valued for his energy, creativity and penchant for the spectacular.
McGree – who featured at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where he set up Mathew Leckie for the goal that downed Denmark – has represented his country 35 times, but his career has been beset with injury setbacks, including a number at Middlesbrough this season.
The extent of his latest knock will now be revealed by scans, with even a minor strain likely to put his participation in two pre-tournament friendlies in doubt.
The Socceroos face co-hosts Mexico on 31 May and Switzerland on 7 June before their World Cup opener against Turkey on 14 June. Their Group D campaign continues against the US on 20 June and concludes against Paraguay six days later.
Given his late-season involvement with Boro, McGree had not yet joined the pre-tournament camp in Florida, where Australian players have been assembling in dribs and drabs over the past few weeks in a final bid to impress Popovic before he announces his 26-man squad on 1 June.
McGree would have flown to Sarasota earlier had Boro not been given a late reprieve following the spygate scandal that resulted in Southampton being excluded from the playoff final, and Boro reinstated to have a second shot at winning promotion to the Premier League.
But it ended in heartbreak for McGree – and fellow Australian Sammy Silvera, an unused substitute on Sunday – as Oli McBurnie swooped in the 95th minute to send Hull up at Boro's expense in a game dubbed the richest in football.
There was also disappointment for Nick D'Agostino, who has been forced to leave the Socceroos' World Cup pre-camp, Football Australia said on Sunday. The fringe striker suffered a leg injury in training, ending his hopes of appearing in his first World Cup.
