International breaks have become an uncomfortable time for Liverpool supporters as they wait for the seemingly inevitable news that one of their key players has been injured while representing their country.
It goes back decades. John Barnes was never the same player after rupturing his Achilles' tendon playing for England, Jamie Redknapp picked up a serious knee injury while also wearing the Three Lions on his chest and more recently Daniel Sturridge was sidelined for months after damaging a thigh muscle around this time last year. Those are just the tip of a very large iceberg.
Kopites have steeled themselves to expect the worst when their players jet off for internationals, so it was a welcome relief to hear that rumours of Sadio Mane having been struck down with a knee injury while representing Senegal last weekend proved to be unfounded.