Out of all the setbacks Liverpool could have faced in their defence of the Premier League title, a season-ending injury to their talisman at the back could perhaps be the most fatal.
Virgil van Dijk requires surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament after being on the receiving end of a horror tackle by Jordan Pickford in Saturday's Merseyside derby, an incident made even worse by the Everton keeper's lack of punishment, both on the day and retrospectively.
It was a damaging blow for Jurgen Klopp and his team, ahead of a period of six matches in 18 days and 17 matches before 2020 is out.