Wright was left out of the 26-man Socceroos' squad when it was cut down from 32 players.

The Bristol City defender had been a regular under former coach Ange Postecoglou over the past three years, winning 23 caps for the green and gold.

But under new coach Bert van Marwijk he has been left out with just three centre backs - Milos Degenek, Trent Sainsbury and Matthew Jurman - chosen for Russia. Wright told FourFourTwo he was surprised by the decision.

"I'm gutted," he said.

"This is football I guess, it doesn't always plan out the way you think. It did come as a bit of a surprise, although this is the nature of the business we are in - it's ruthless, competitive and nothing is guaranteed.

"I won't be the first person to miss out on a World Cup who felt personally that they deserved to be there, and I won't be the last. This is life."

Wright revealed he had been given no reason for his omission.

"There has been no contact from any coaching staff there," the 25-year-old said.

Wright played in two Socceroos' World Cup qualifiers in 2016 and five in 2017, including starting both ties against Honduras.

The defender will be hoping to force his way back into international calculations for the 2019 Asian Cup, when Graham Arnold will be in charge.

"It's still sort of sinking in with me, part of my goals over the past four years was to qualify for a World Cup and represent my country at a World Cup and be part of something special," he said.

"I can no longer do that now so it's time to reflect, have some time off and be ready to concentrate on myself and being ready for next season with Bristol City.

"If I can do that then hopefully that will get me back involved with the national team and there is still a lot to look forward to beyond the World Cup."