If Virgil van Dijk needs any inspiration as he continues his recovery from a serious knee injury, he won't have to look very far.
The centre-back recently returned to Liverpool for the next stage of his continue rehabilitation, having previously been training in Dubai after injuring his ACL in last October's Merseyside derby.
With team-mate Joe Gomez sidelined with a serious knee injury of his own the following month, the Reds continue to refuse to put a timescale on the duo's recovery, but Jurgen Klopp has admitted he doesn't expect to see them back on the pitch this season.
Gomez has forged a strong bond with Van Dijk, both in terms of their on-field centre-back pairing and off-field friendship.
And that relationship can now help the duo inspire each other on the road back to full fitness, with the pair pictured in the gym together at the AXA Training Centre in Kirkby for the first time on Friday as they continue their respective recoveries.
Rehabilitation from such a major injury can be a long, lonely place.
Gomez, of course, has been here before, having suffered a similar cruciate ligament injury just months after joining Liverpool in the summer of 2015.
He benefited from working alongside, at least for the initial seven months of his recovery, former Liverpool striker Danny Ings, who suffered an ACL injury of his own during a training session at Melwood on the same day as Gomez’s setback.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is another Liverpool player to have suffered a long-term injury having also damaged his anterior cruciate ligament in April 2018.
He was joined during his recovery by Rhian Brewster, who was seeking to regain fitness from knee and ankle problems that ultimately kept him out for 18 months.
And, speaking when halfway through his rehabilitation, Oxlade-Chamberlain revealed the difference that can be made from not having to go it alone.
"You're just sort of left in a silent room doing your gym and it's those moments that are the most difficult ones, especially when it's a long process and it's going to be like this every day," he said.
"So it's nice to have a younger lad that I can sort of guide through it as well. Rhian's been brilliant, he's a great lad and I don't really have to tell him too much.
"A lot of the time he's checking on me, I'll be honest.
"He's always so positive and he's just got that youthful enthusiasm about him which is really going to have around, it keeps me going."
Van Dijk has been the player Gomez has looked up to ever since the Dutchman arrived at Anfield almost three years ago.
They had each other's backs on the field as Liverpool strolled to the Premier League title last season.
Now they will be looking out for one another again - albeit in completely different circumstances.
A version of this was first published on November 13, 2020
