It hasn't been how anyone would have wanted. But the hard work of those at Liverpool's Academy is now being recognised by a much wider audience.
The ongoing spate of coronavirus outbreaks has forced all clubs, from the Premier League downwards, to lean heavily on their youth and development players.
Some have found it more difficult than others. Liverpool, though, are benefiting from the joined-up thinking that has seen time, money and effort invested into forging not only young talent, but ensuring they have a clear pathway to the first team.
Sunday, then, was another proud day for the Academy, with 11 of the 20 players in the matchday squad for the FA Cup third round win over Shrewsbury Town at Anfield having come through their ranks.
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It came after similar reliance on homegrown players for the final Champions League group game at AC Milan and, of course, throughout the continued Carabao Cup run.
Jurgen Klopp is likely to again call upon several youngsters for the semi-final first leg against Arsenal at Anfield on Thursday, the hopefuls benefiting from regular inclusion in first-team training since the senior side and under-23 squad moved in alongside one another at the £50m AXA Training Centre in late 2020.
And Steve McManaman, a regular presence at the Academy, believes Liverpool are still only scratching the surface of the potential of their long-term plan to optimise the progress of the next generation.
"I don't think we will have seen the full effect yet as we are still in COVID times and there are bubbles," says the former Liverpool winger, who himself came through the youth ranks in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
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"They are not fully integrated as of yet, but that they are there training and in the same building - albeit not intermingling fully yet - and it certainly helps in that respect.
"If someone gets an injury, the first team coaching staff can just shout across to the next pitch and get a youngster in and have a look at them.
"I've always thought a full integrated system from top to bottom was the way forward.
"It's a lot easier in the training sessions to organise, rather than being at Melwood and having a couple of injuries and then calling people down from Kirkby and having to travel there."
The impact of Liverpool's youngsters at the weekend was best illustrated with the equalising goal in the 4-1 triumph, Elijah Dixon-Bonner passing for Conor Bradley to cross low into the area where 17-year-old Kaide Gordon coolly netted his first goal for the club.
Seven Academy graduates have been handed a senior debut this season while Dixon-Bonner and Billy Koumetio, who had previously appeared from the bench, were given their first starts.
And while not all will eventually emerge as Liverpool regulars, they are being given the opportunities to impress - and, should they prove successful, save the club a tidy sum in the transfer market.
"You just hope that like when we spoke about Trent Alexander-Arnold six years ago or Curtis Jones two or three years ago, they just need to train with the first team as often as they can," says McManaman, who has this season worked with Amazon Prime as a pundit.
"The more they train with the first team and the more they get used to the pace of first-team football, the more they will improve.
"Jurgen brings a lot of the players in for training sessions with the first team and it's noticeable how many have then jumped into the first team.
"The more they play at that elite level and train at the intensity and pace the first team train - such as the quality you have to deal with in marking a Mane, Salah, Firmino or Jota - it will help them a great deal.
"I hope they keep on improving, that's all you can ask for. Not everybody is going to play 50 times for Liverpool's first team, but the most important thing when you are 16, 17 or 18 is to try and get a career in football."
McManaman adds: "They are all going the right way and it speaks volumes of Alex Inglethorpe and the people at the Academy such as Barry Lewtas, Marc Bridge-Wilkinson and all their staff, the fact the pathway is there and open for players who are good enough.
"We've seen it with Trent, Curtis, Rhys Wiliams, Nat Phillips, Neco Williams and others that the pathway is there that if you are good enough you will get the opportunity, and it's up to you to then stake your claim and keep on improving."
Arguably the breakout star from the Academy this season has been Tyler Morton, the 19-year-old midfielder who made his debut as a second-half substitute in the Carabao Cup win at Norwich City and has since made starts in the competition along with the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
"The League Cup is one thing," says McManaman. "But when you've been thrust into a starting line-up in the Champions League, it's something a little more different and special.
"Tyler is a lovely footballer, he hardly gives the ball away, his positional play is really nice, he picks out a nice pass."
