Twelve months ago, Diogo Jota was on the hand to answer the call from Jurgen Klopp.
Having seen Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah depart to an Africa Cup of Nations that would end with both involved in the final out in Cameroon, Klopp was in need of attacking inspiration and Jota responded in kind.
Five goals in less than a month between January and February while Mane and Salah were away took the Portugal star up to 17 for a campaign that would end with him breaking the 20-goal barrier for the first time in his top-flight career.
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It was a season that saw Jota develop into one of Klopp's most trusted options and the former Wolves man was rewarded for his performances with a brand new contract that was signed in August.
In many ways, Jota's Anfield rise has been the textbook example of how Liverpool want their players to develop at the club. Initially arriving from Wolves in September 2020, the move for the versatile attacker was not immediately an obvious one but within two years he had developed into a top-class attacker and was recompensed for it with improved terms.
Sources in 2020 spoke about how Jota was accustomed to operating in a hard-working unit like the one at Molinuex at the time, while his tactical flexibility and intelligence were highlighted as reasons to why he could, over time, thrive under the new weight of expectations on his shoulders at Liverpool.
Glowing character references from Pep Lijnders' contacts at former club Porto helped seal the deal and a healthy relationship with Wolves allowed the clubs to strike a complicated and unusually structured deal that would see the Reds pay an initial £41m and send Ki-Jana Hoever the other way for an overall sum of £13.5m and a 15% sell-on clause.
Twelve goals in his first 22 games for the Reds - including a Champions League hat-trick at Atalanta - more than hinted at another success in the transfer market and last season's output, that included important strikes against the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Everton, Atletico Madrid and Manchester City, helped further solidify his growing reputation.
Since then, though, it's largely been a tale of woe for Jota at Anfield. A hamstring injury picked up during the club's tour of the Far East has had a knock-on effect that has threatened to wreck his entire campaign. Eventually returning in early September in a goalless draw at Everton, the former Atletico Madrid and Porto man come back into to a side struggling for fluency and rhythm back in the Autumn.
Just seven more appearances were made by Jota before a serious calf injury, sustained in the closing stages of October's 1-0 win over Manchester City, has again left him sidelined. It ruined his hopes of performing for Portugal at the World Cup and was a major part in the thinking behind the move for Cody Gakpo at the start of the calendar year.
“It is really not good news for Diogo," Klopp said in mid-October. "He will miss the World Cup, a pretty serious injury to a calf muscle and now the process of recovery starts and that is it. It is very sad news. He will be out for a long time, months. We will see. I don’t want to put a number on it because I always hope in the middle of rehab there is a positive development.”
Jota later posted on social media: "After such a good night at Anfield mine ended in the worst way! In the last minute one of my dreams collapsed. I will be one more supporting from the outside, club and country, and fighting to be back as soon as possible. You'll Never Walk Alone."
Despite the setback, the Portugal international was still taken on the club's mid-season trip to Dubai to continue his recovery. The striker was in a relaxed mood at the camp, walking without issue around the club's base and undertaking rehabilitation sessions with the medical department at the Nad al Sheba Complex.
"It was nice for someone with a long-term injury to get out of the English weather," said assistant boss Pep Lijnders before Christmas. "He was in all the video meetings and we had a lot of them.”
The initial plan was for Jota to return to action in time for the Champions League last-16 clash with Real Madrid at Anfield in mid-February and Klopp is expected to deliver an injury update on the No.20 in his pre-Brighton press conference on Friday at the AXA Centre.
With the best part of a five-month lay-off for the combined injuries, however, Liverpool might have to temper their expectations and reduce their demands on Jota when he does finally makes his comeback. Given the relatively serious nature of the two problems, it might be next term when the 26-year-old reaches the heights once more.
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