Poor Joe Gomez seemed to get little sympathy from his Liverpool team-mates after Diogo Jota accidently blasted the ball into a rather delicate part of his anatomy during a training session.
With the reigning champions preparing for Sunday’s showdown at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City, their biggest rival in the Premier League in recent seasons, the Reds players were going through an intensive routine at Melwood when the incident occurred.
Members of Liverpool's squad were conducting a fast-paced rondo when Andy Robertson excitedly passed the ball through both Gomez and James Milner to new boy Jota, who has already netted seven goals for the club included six in his last four outings, culminating with a hat-trick in the 5-0 Champions League thrashing of Atalanta.
The Portuguese forward then absolutely hoofed the ball... straight into Gomez's nether regions.
The defender crumples to the floor and doesn't receive too much sympathy from his laughing team-mates including a giggling Trent Alexander-Arnold and Sadio Mane, who turns to the camera to check that the moment has been captured for posterity, before he eventually gets to his feet and checks to see if everything is still in working order.
Jota understandably looks a little sheepish a he goes over to Gomez, but thankfully any serious injury was avoided or else manager Jurgen Klopp, who has been low on centre-backs due to injuries suffered by Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip, may not have been as amused as his players.
Catford-born Gomez was at least able to see the funny side afterwards as he posted a photograph on Instagram of the moment he hit the deck while captain Jordan Henderson reacts with open-mouthed shock.
