England have inadvertently provided two of the most devastating moments of Joe Gomez's career. But it's the national team that could well play a contributory factor as the defender ponders the next move of a rollercoaster time at Liverpool.
A new contract for Gomez is on the agenda for the Reds as they look to tie down a number of players during the summer, including Mohamed Salah and Naby Keita.
With the defender still having two years remaining on his present contract, there is no immediate danger of him walking away for nothing at the end of the next campaign, as would be the case with the both Salah and Keita.
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Gomez, though, has much to consider as he contemplates what could be a pivotal moment in a career that has been hampered by injury and untimely misfortune. And with the World Cup approaching, the chance to still force his way into Gareth Southgate's squad will be at the forefront of his mind.
Of course, it was while on international duty that the 25-year-old suffered two seismic setbacks, the first coming mere days after Jurgen Klopp was appointed Liverpool manager in October 2015 when Gomez damaged his anterior cruciate ligament during an England under-21s match.
The second saw him rupture his patella tendon while training with the England senior squad in November 2020, at a time when Gomez had taken on the mantle of being Liverpool's main centre-back in the long-term absence of Virgil van Dijk and regularly injury issues of Joel Matip.
Before that, Gomez had started 38 of the Reds' previous 47 games to become the regular partner to Van Dijk. Since his return to fitness last summer, he has taken longer than both Van Dijk and Matip to regain full sharpness and has also seen Ibrahima Konate, a £36million arrival at the end of last season, move ahead of him in the pecking order. As a consequence, this season saw Gomez make just 11 starts, none of which have come at centre-back in the Premier League.
"It's really unlucky for Joe," Klopp acknowledged in February. "He has consistently played on an incredible level and has been one of the best centre-halves in England but then the big injury came and little injuries on top of that. He is a young lad and everything will be fine in the future but at the moment, it's for sure harder."
Gomez, who has 11 England caps, has made no qualms about his desire to play for his country, despite being bizarrely jeered by Three Lions fans at Wembley in 2019 having been on the receiving end in an altercation with Manchester City's Raheem Sterling. Missing out on a likely place at Euro 2020 will have hurt.
"He needs to be settled in with Liverpool with plenty of minutes on the pitch feeling in a good place with all of that before we start thinking of selecting him with us," said England boss Southgate. “But he’s a boy we think a lot of and it's good to see him close and available for selection, which is great.”
That, though, was back in September. Gomez hasn't had an England call-up since.
Next season, Liverpool have 24 games - 16 in the Premier League, one in the League Cup, six in the Champions League group stage and another in the Community Shield - for Gomez to prove his worth before England's World Cup begins on November 21 against Iran at the Khalifa International Stadium, the venue where three years earlier the defender was part of the Reds team that beat Flamengo 1-0 to seal the club's first ever FIFA Club World Cup.
Plenty of time in theory, then. But the competition for places at Liverpool means it will be as difficult as ever to gain the minutes needed to work his way back into England squad.
Gomez could therefore opt not to commit his long-term future to the Reds and thus give a sign he could be open to an imminent departure. There would be no shortage of clubs offering regular appearances. But is the short-term benefit of potentially bolstering World Cup hopes worth the long-term gamble of leaving Anfield? With Van Dijk and Matip in their thirties, the years are very much on Gomez's side.
Liverpool want him to stay. Gomez's next step, then, will make for intriguing viewing.
