International breaks spent with his club are nothing new for Dele Alli these days.
At one point in his career, the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder looked as though he would be a foundation piece for the Three Lions for years to come. Instead, with form dwindled and his stock fallen, it's now over three years since he represented his country.
Nevertheless, you sense there would have been a little more for Alli to ponder over in this break compared to recent ones. After all, he's at a new club, is on the brink of a relegation tussle and is already seemingly facing up to a crucial period with Everton.
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There was a lot of excitement among the Goodison Park faithful when Alli arrived in January - the prospect of a once fine goalscoring midfielder working under one of the all-time great goalscoring midfielders in Frank Lampard tantalising.
Alli was a faded star for sure and L4 hasn't been an environment for such talents to have their dulled sparkle rebuffed. But the sight of Alli and Lampard greeting one another and the latter's "we did it" remark was enough to trigger hope that this could be a beautiful relationship. As of yet, it has not really got off the ground.
Alli will have been an Everton player for over two months by the time the team next plays and as of yet he hasn't started a Premier League fixture. He's made six substitute appearances totalling 170 minutes, with one of those an early introduction in the away clash with Newcastle United.
There have been times when Lampard may have turned to Alli, although injury problems and red cards have prevented him from being able to accommodate the attacking midfielder. The fact he has been cup-tied for Everton's FA Cup fixtures has not been helpful either.
So far, it would appear Manchester United loanee Donny van de Beek is ahead of Alli in the midfield pecking order, with Abdoulaye Doucoure and Allan the preferred choices to sit deeper.
While typically a player like Alli would potentially be viewed as a project and patience would be required, the unique structure of the transfer from Tottenham frames his early outings in a different way. That's because Everton will pay various amounts to Spurs based on Alli's appearances in royal blue.
Significantly, the first payment is reportedly for £10million and will be triggered when the 25-year-old makes his 20th appearance for Everton. If correct, it would be impossible for Alli to get to that mark before the summer transfer window.
It means that in theory the Toffees would have the chance to cut their losses should they wish. So perhaps it is no surprise that with that information in mind and Alli's indifferent start to life at the club, rumours are already beginning to swirl about a possible departure.
It will be fascinating to see what comes next for Alli on the other side of the international break and whether Lampard does place some faith in the languid midfielder in what is poised to be a raucous relegation battle. For a team that has found the net in just one of their last seven games against top-flight opposition, a dash of something different would be welcome in attack.
Fans were ready to buy in to Alli. When he came on in the 3-0 win over Leeds United, Goodison was abuzz with shouts of "I want to be like Dele Alli." In recent outings, it's a song that has been heard less and less, with a collective taking stock of the player's situation ongoing.
Everton could end up paying a huge fee for Alli if he was to meet a variety of stipulations. If that was to be the case, then it would point to the ex-MK Dons man having had a stellar stint at Goodison Park.
At the moment, paying £10million for Alli feels like it might be some way off. But if he can have some kind of positive say in the final 11 games of the season and help keep Everton afloat in the top flight? He may prove to be priceless.
