Bailey Wright's World Cup elation has been put in persepective after the Sunderland defender learned this morning of the death of his mother-in-law. Wright came off the bench yesterday to help Australia beat Denmark to finish as runners-up in Group D and book a last 16 tie against Argentina.
In the immediate aftermath of that win, Wright fought back tears as he revealed that he had received a message from his wife Alexandria to tell him that her mother Tammy's health had deteriorated significantly. Wright said after the match: "I've just come in from a message from my wife.
"I just want to dedicate this to my wife, bless her, and her mum. I'll be honest, I'm not sure if she's still with us.
READ MORE: Sunderland star seals World Cup progression after Australia see off Denmark
"It was, for them, a really tough time back home, but ultimately, it made this possible for me to be here and live one of my dreams so I dedicate that to Tammy. I hope she's still with us.
"No one knows [about the situation]. That's something I've kept to myself; we've all got a lot going on. Job to do, isn't it? You’ve got to be professional all the time."
And this morning the 30-year-old was told that his mother-in-law has in fact passed away, with the news made public by Football Australia while a scheduled media appearance by Wright in Doha has been cancelled. Back in mid-September, Wright was absent from the Sunderland squad that played at Reading and Watford with head coach Tony Mowbray explaining that he had remained in the North East for 'personal reasons', although without going into detail.
He returned to the squad at the beginning of October, and has been involved ever since - including starting the Black Cats' last four games in the run-up to the World Cup break.
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