It is perhaps the Christmas gift every football supporter has been given at some stage in their lives.
The team photo is one of the most traditional and historical elements of every football club.
Many teams have pictures dating back to the late 1800s where the pictures were black and white, and the photographer had to hide beneath a black rag to take the photo.
Football seasons can easily be identified by the very personnel or trophies in the photos.
However, supporters, not just those of Liverpool but of other clubs, found themselves double taking at the Reds’ team photo, as it appeared midfielder Harvey Elliott may have been photoshopped into the team photo.
The 18-year-old midfielder had been a pivotal part of Jurgen Klopp’s side this season, featuring in all their Premier League matches until a nasty injury against Leeds United consigned him to the side-lines.
Liverpool took their team photos at their Kirkby training pitch.
Despite the dislocated ankle Elliott suffered, he was part of the squad photo on the left-hand side next to Curtis Jones.
However, eagle eyed supporters and individuals on social media zoomed into the youngster and figured that the Harvey Elliott in the photo was not originally in the photo.
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Supporters zoomed into his legs and spotted they looked very similar to the legs of winger Sadio Mane.
With Elliott confined to the side-lines with his ankle, it’s likely the club photoshopped him into the photo so he was not left standing around for a long time.
They may have also decided the presence of Elliott on crutches, perhaps also with a protective boot on his ankle, would not have looked quite right in the photo.
Hopefully it will not be too long until the youngster is dazzling on the pitch again once more.
Elliott posted a photo of himself and his rehabilitation on social media.
He was wearing a heavy looking oxygen mask with the caption “small steps”.
A dislocated ankle caused by a tackle from behind by Leeds United’s midfielder Pascal Struijk is expected to keep him on the side-lines for most of the season.
While the tackle was not malicious, the way in which his ankle dislocated was deemed so unpleasant, replays of the incident were not shown on Sky Sports’ coverage.
Elliott underwent surgery on his ankle right-away, and Liverpool team doctor Dr Jim Moxon said it was a success.
'We were able to reduce the dislocation immediately on the pitch and Harvey had surgery to repair the fracture and ligaments damaged in the incident,” Moxon said to the Daily Mail.
'The operation was a success so his comeback starts now.
'We won't put pressure on him by setting a specific timeframe beyond being able to say with confidence we expect him to feature again later in the season following our rehab programme.'
Elliott also communicated to the footballing fans soon after; referencing a line from You’ll Never Walk Alone” to the joy of Liverpool fans.
'Operation was a success! Thank you so much to everyone for your amazing support,” Elliott posted.
'The road to recovery starts now. At the end of the storm there's a golden sky,' he added, referencing a lyric from Liverpool's 'You'll Never Walk Alone' anthem.
