Hibernian winger Martin Boyle has claimed his recent knee injury may have remained hidden for seven years.
The Australia international, who had to pull out of the World Cup to get surgery to rectify the issue, will also miss the rest of the domestic season.
Speaking to BBC Sport, he said: "Basically what I have is a discoid meniscus, where I've got a larger meniscus than normal.
"So that was keeping everything in place, it was keeping my cruciate stable, and long story short, I could have had this ACL injury for about six, seven years and been playing through it.
"It's a bit of a tricky one, I've been trying to digest it myself - you get put to sleep and you wake up and your whole knee's been reconstructed.
Despite the injury being discovered so late in the day that he had to get surgery in Qatar, the 29-year-old chose to remain in the country to cheer on the Socceroos.
And he was spotted on the pitch after Graham Arnold's side's 1-0 victory over Tunisia on matchday two.
Australia still has a chance of qualifying for the round of 16 going into the last game against Denmark, and Boyle made clear that not even a serious injury would keep him away from proceedings.
"I've been better, but it is what it is," he continued.
"I normally take everything in my stride. It's certainly not ideal to get so close to the major tournament and for this injury to occur, but I can be proud and keep my head held high and say I've done my bit through the qualifying campaign.
"I wanted to stay with the team. As soon as I knew it was possible for me to stay, it was a no-brainer for myself.
"I got my surgery out here which made it simpler. I've got the physios and the doctors out here, which is perfect for my recovery, and I can go to the games and support the lads, which is brilliant.
"My job is keeping the spirits up. To be fair, most of them can be a bit miserable!
"I think that's why they've kept me around."
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