If Virgil van Dijk needs any inspiration as he begins his recovery from a devastating knee injury, he won't have to look very far.
Liverpool have confirmed Van Dijk will undergo surgery after damaging knee ligaments when the victim of a horror challenge from Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford during Saturday’s Merseyside derby draw at Goodison.
While club sources are reluctant to rule out a return to action, it’s clear the Dutchman faces a long, hard rehabilitation having started every Premier League for Liverpool since January 2018.
Van Dijk has forged a strong bond with Joe Gomez, both in terms of their on-field centre-back pairing and off-field friendship.
And that relationship can help the 29-year-old on the route back to full fitness.
Gomez, of course, has been here before, having suffered a similar anterior cruciate ligament injury just months after joining Liverpool in the summer of 2015.
Four days after Jurgen Klopp was unveiled as the new Reds boss, the defender sustained the damage while on England under-21 duty against Kazakhstan.
After nine months on the sidelines Gomez was on the brink of a return to full training when he broke down again and was diagnosed with tendinopathy in his Achilles. It would eventually be 15 months before he played again.
Former Liverpool striker Danny Ings suffered an ACL injury on the same day as Gomez’s setback during a training session at Melwood, but was back in action within seven months.
And while a second such problem kept him out for another 11 months, he has since more than proven his fitness as a regular goalscorer having moved to Southampton.
Van Dijk can also take heart from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s recovery after almost a year out with an ACL. But it is with Gomez he has forged the strongest bond.
The Dutchman's mental strength and physical resolve has long been apparent on the pitch, but such an injury represents a different challenge and his most difficult as a professional since 2012 when, while making the grade at Groningen, it was discovered that a ruptured appendix had caused appendicitis, peritonitis and a kidney infection.
*Who was your Liverpool MOTM in the derby? Have your say here.
Van Dijk has been the player Gomez has looked up to ever since the Dutchman arrived at Anfield almost three years ago.
Now, though, the roles are reversed. Van Dijk’s comeback trail has begun - and Gomez can help.
