Jurgen Klopp has already made it clear that Fabio Carvalho was primed to play a key role for Liverpool this season - but the Reds chief surely would not have envisaged relying on the former Fulham youngster just three games into the new Premier League campaign.
But Klopp could be forced to do just that in next Monday's crunch clash with Manchester United now that Darwin Nunez is unavailable. Liverpool's new £85million striker lasted less than an hour on his Anfield debut, which ended in disgrace after he was dismissed for a blatant headbutt on Crystal Palace defender Joachim Anderson.
Nunez's moment of madness means Klopp will have to cope without the Uruguayan's services for the next three matches - a situation that has already been described as a "nightmare" by Jamie Carragher.
