It has been a long, slow and sometimes painful road for Rhian Brewster.
But further evidence the Liverpool youngster is approaching his best came during a rollercoaster afternoon at the Academy in Kirkby on Sunday.
Brewster scored twice as the under-23s held on for a 4-3 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in their Premier League 2 clash.
The 19-year-old has taken time to rediscover his sharpness after more than a year out on the sidelines with a serious knee injury.
However, after finally making his senior debut in the League Cup win at MK Dons, Brewster is now showing more signs of improvement with U23s boss Neil Critchley in particular impressed with his improving all-round play.
Asked if Brewster was taking steps in the right direction, Critchley said: "There were positives to take from the game and Rhian's goals were among them.
"He is looking slightly better every time he plays. That was arguably his best game for us this season, not just his goals but his all-round contribution, the way he led the line particularly without the ball, competing with his back to goal as well.
"He was competing very well with longer balls and balls in the air. He put a real shift in for the team which is something he will be able to do as he gets fitter. I was really pleased with his contribution."
Brewster's brace was added to by a Herbie Kane strike before a deflected Leighton Clarkson header ultimately proved the difference between the teams.
Clarkson, impressive for the U18s this season and having spent time training with the first team, came off the bench for the final half-hour.
And Critchley added: "When he came on, we had lost some control in the game and we asked him to go on and gain control back and he did that.
"He is intelligent and very good technically, he found good positions on the pitch and used the ball well. And then he popped up in the box, whether it's his goal or not it's him making the run into the box from the cross from Curtis (Jones).
"Leighton has had some exposure with the senior squad at Melwood and I know the first-team staff have been happy with him as well."
Liverpool were 4-1 ahead before leaking two goals in the closing moments to ensure a nervy finish.
"The way we played in the last 10 or 15 minutes meant we didn't make things easy for ourselves," said Critchley.
"I was disappointed with large periods of the game, to be honest. We have played a lot better in previous games.
"But what we were able to do is take our chances, which perhaps we haven't done in games so far this season.
"Our Achilles heel was very evident in the last 10 minutes where we didn't defend as a team as well as we could have."
