“Obviously, he’s had his moments where he’s thought over the whole situation, and he’s devastated and disappointed,” he said.

“He’ll stay around the camp for the campaign, which is good, because he deserves it. And he’s a good guy to have around the group as well. We’re all sad for him because he did so much and contributed so much to getting us here. It’s just another another reason for us to do it for him.”

Tilio, 21, narrowly missed Arnold’s initial cut but has been presented with the opportunity of a lifetime through Boyle’s misfortune, and looms as another dangerous bench weapon alongside Garang Kuol for when Arnold looks for attacking impetus from his substitutes.

“It’s ironically similar to his Olympics campaign, where he came in late, and he scored a goal against Argentina,” said Leckie, Tilio’s club teammate.

Loading

“Marco’s a very talented player [who] can make things happen in moments. If he gets his chance, he’ll definitely take. For the young players, there’s no bigger stage. You see after every World Cup, the amount of signings that are made, and players that appear that no one really knew of ... if they have a special moment in this tournament, they can be those players.”

The prognosis is much better for Hrustic, who was also in a race against time to be fit after hurting his ankle on duty for Hellas Verona in Italy’s Serie A. The 26-year-old has spent much of his time in Qatar working alongside Boyle on an individual program and receiving treatment at the high-tech Aspetar sports medicine hospital next to their base at the Aspire Academy.

Arnold said Hrustic won’t start against France, potentially opening the door for Middlesbrough’s Riley McGree, but could come off the bench and would be available for Australia’s subsequent games against Tunisia and Denmark.

All other players, Arnold said, are fit and ready to go, including key defender Harry Souttar who is back from his ACL injury and lacking match fitness, but has presented in “excellent” shape.