SARASOTA, Florida -- A leg injury has forced Nicholas D'Agostino to withdraw from the Socceroos' pre-tournament training camp, throwing a fresh twist into the race for spots in Australia's 26-man FIFA World Cup squad. National team staff also face an anxious wait for scan results after Riley McGree limped off in Middlesbrough's Championship playoff loss to Hull City.
McGree, 27, was forced off with an apparent hamstring injury in the 76th minute of the playoff final on Saturday, a game Boro would go on to lose in heartbreaking fashion after Oli McBurnie's dramatic 95th-minute winner.
- Socceroos World Cup Daily: News, updates, all you need to know
- Auckland down Sky Blues to claim A-League Men championship
- Sources: Reyna in, Tessmann out as USMNT names World Cup squad
It sent an immediate ripple through Socceroos camp, where many members were watching the game live at their accommodations in the Florida city of Sarasota.
A Socceroos team official told ESPN on Saturday afternoon that they were awaiting the results of scans on McGree and were already in contact with both Middlesbrough and the attacker on next steps.
D'Agostino, meanwhile, departed Florida on Saturday after suffering a leg injury that dashed his hopes of forcing his way into Tony Popovic's final 26-player squad.
The striker had already arrived in camp with an uphill battle to make the side after missing the final months of the A-League Men season after tearing his medial collateral ligament while on loan at Brisbane Roar.
He joins Portsmouth defender Hayden Matthews as the only players on the ground in Florida that have been ruled out of the World Cup through injury, with the rest of the 29 assembled on the Gulf Coast all training on Saturday.
A further five to six players are expected to jet in over the coming days, with the likes of Mathew Ryan, Paul Okon Jr, Kai Trewin, and Alessandro Circati marking their final club commitments over the weekend.
Afforded added scope to absorb injury and bring in potential replacements by the extended camp, Popovic could also see fit to add another out-and-out striker such as Deni Juric or Tete Yengi to his preparations.
D'Agostino's injury has left Mohamed Toure, Mitchell Duke, Brandon Borrello, and Ante Suto as the only natural No. 9s left in Florida.
The versatile Mathew Leckie could serve as a potential back-up in that role, too, and he and Harry Souttar were full participants in Saturday's session at the IMG Academy -- that duo amongst the first arrivals at camp as they sought to prove their form and fitness after long-term injuries.
In heat that reached 32 degrees Celsius and blanketing humidity, intensity was high throughout the session, with Socceroos staff showing no hesitation in pushing their charges as they look to bring their conditioning up to the level they envision as being necessary for the World Cup.