Since 2016, Rhys Patchell hasn't had what you'd call a quiet summer.
That year saw him swept from a golf course, put on a plane and facing the All Blacks within days.
The following year he wasn't initially picked for Wales' tour of Samoa and Tonga, despite having just guided the Scarlets to a thrilling PRO12 triumph. He did eventually travel as a late call up - but did not see a minute of action on the pitch.
Last summer finally saw the fly-half get his big moment as he started both of Wales' Tests in Argentina - looking the part in the 10 jersey.
He returned back from his potential star-making turn against the Pumas not just seemingly nailed on as Dan Biggar's deputy, but as the man ready to usurp him.
Yet, for those who haven't followed the script, that really hasn't happened.
By the autumn, Gareth Anscombe was the man in possession and he didn't let go. Right up until, that is, it was snatched away from him in the cruelest fashion.
Anscombe limped off against England on Sunday and, in the hours that followed, saw his World Cup dreams shattered.
Just like that, Patchell now looks set to be thrust from nowhere into the limelight once again - only a lot has changed since he was last there.
Since the Scarlets pivot was last given the starting berth, it's been an annus horribilis of sorts for Patchell.
Having returned from Argentina last summer as the main man on the back of two stunning seasons with the Scarlets, Patchell's stock could hardly have been higher in Welsh rugby circles.
Yet the opening day of last season's PRO14 season dealt Patchell a blow that set the scene for the campaign that was to follow.
He suffered a head knock against Ulster, missing two games. In the third game after his comeback, another concussion set him back even further.
This all came on the back of previous concussion issues when a severe knock to the head resulted in him losing 48 hours of memory.
Warren Gatland even suggested an extended break from the game could be on the cards if he were to suffer just one more head blow.
His injury woes weren't over there either, with a hamstring problem suffered against the Ospreys over Christmas curbing his progress once more.
Perhaps understandably, his stop-start season had an effect on his form as well. His confidence seemed completely drained at times.
Defensive issues were highlighted by his regional coach, Wayne Pivac, and he was even replaced by centre Hadleigh Parkes at number 10 on occasions due to the concerns.
After a forgettable year, Patchell's World Cup selection hopes had moved from likely to longshot - particularly when Gatland decided he'd only take two 10s to Japan.
Yet Anscombe's injury has turned the tables. While the duo's respective rise and fall in the past 12 months was astronomic, the inverse reaction following Monday's scan on Anscombe's ACL has yet to be determined.
While the new Ospreys man managed to overtake Biggar in the pecking order last autumn, it's unthinkable that Patchell will do the same.
Biggar is now the undisputed first-choice. For Patchell, his first task is seeing off young Jarrod Evans.
The Cardiff Blues playmaker is a left-field option to be a bolter and it will be up to Patchell to prove his struggles are behind him to book his place on the plane.
It's important to remember what Patchell is capable of at Test level too, even if Pivac has suggested his defence is short of international rugby standards.
He made the tour of Argentina look a cakewalk at times with his gainline attacking style from 10 keeping defences on their toes and forcing Wales' forwards and backs to take responsibility in attack.
And he was the ringleader in one of Wales' best attacking displays in recent memory when he pulled the strings to run Scotland ragged in their 2018 Six Nations opener.
If he can put the past year behind him and reestablish himself, he can still have a big part to play.
Above it all, he is a classy player who has shown he can help Wales play in a different way. In the absence of Anscombe, that's a tempting, if slightly raw, proposition.
It looks like being another less than quiet summer for Patchell. And the autumn that follows offers him the chance to get his career back on track on the biggest stage of them all.
