Hibs hero in World Cup 'heart' vow as Martin Boyle seeks Socceroos redemption for 'toughest time of my career'
‘Strong mentality’ helped forward bounce back from devastating diagnosis at Qatar 2022
Martin Boyle has been waiting a long time for this opportunity. With World Cup redemption now so close, there is zero chance of the Hibs forward letting the chance slip past.
The veteran Socceroos front man, the ink barely dry on a new one-year contract extension that took everyone by surprise, is currently in Florida as part of the extended Australia squad gathered in the hope of making Tony Popovic’s life more difficult. Deliberately over-stocking the training camp with more bodies than he needs, the Aussie boss has created an environment of cut-throat competition for places.
Boyle, left in bits – physically and emotionally – when a devastating knee injury wrecked his World Cup dreams on the eve of the 2022 tournament in Qatar, certainly won’t lack for motivation. Desperate to bury memories of what he calls the “toughest time of my career”, the 33-year-old insists he only has one thought in his head.
Striker ‘extremely driven’ to impress boss Popovic
“Yeah, absolutely, I've been extremely driven to make the World Cup,” he said, referencing the agonies he endured just under four years ago as he pointed out: “Coming back from an ACL injury is not ideal. Some people don't recover the same, and they lose a yard of pace or whatever, but every time I seem to get injured, I know I'm going to come back much stronger.
“I've got a strong mentality. I've had great support around me, and the fans at Hibs have been brilliant since I came back from injury.
“But there's a lot of boys in there competing for spots to go to the World Cup. And luckily, we've had a bit of form just now that takes us in the best position to do that.
“I hope I can put my best foot forward to be in contention. I'll train with my heart, as I always do, and be as professional as I can. And if it gets me there, it gets me there.”
‘I was on a lot of pain medication!’
Recalling the rationalisation, dwindling hope and eventual acceptance of fate that saw him try – oh, how he tried – to prove his fitness for the Australia squad already gathered in Qatar for that rare winter World Cup back in late 2022, Boyle admitted that being asked to stay as a non-playing member of the squad deadened the blow of missing out. But acting as unofficial ‘vibes manager’ was no substitute for actually contributing to the cause.
“Yeah, it was probably the toughest time of my career,” he said, adding: “Obviously it wasn't great.
“I was going into the operation while my family was coming out, flying over. And then there were complications. It was supposed to be a 20 or 30-minut operation, but it turned into two-and-a-half hours, a full knee reconstruction. All a bit bizarre.
“But the lads coming together and asking me to stay there and be a part of the group was a special feeling, so it made me feel welcome, and it shows that they do have soft spot for me. It must be nice for me to be around the camp to them, which is nice.
“I was in a lot of pain, I was on a lot of medication after the ACL reconstruction. It's not nice, it's not the best feeling.
“But I think putting that aside and concentrating on putting them first and making sure everyone was organised for them and just being a laugh, just being my normal self around the boys and making them feel good about themselves, feel easy and not nervous and stressed out. They went out there and done that, and they can be very proud,
“But we feel like we can go one step further this time. And fingers crossed we can.
“You know, what we achieved last time, obviously getting put out by the eventual winners in Argentina and being a part of that, and obviously that spurred me on, obviously being a part of the squad.
“But you want to add things on the pitch. You want to contribute, so fingers crossed I can do that.
“But no, the belief is very high. We've got a lot of young boys and a lot of experience at the moment, and there's a good mix, and I think more range of players coming through that are breaking in.
“The new manager has given a lot of boys their opportunities, so it's just taking it when you get the opportunity, which is the main thing.
“And he's not scared to make changes. So you have to be on it every day.”