Liverpool FC have been dealt another huge injury blow after it was confirmed that Danny Ings will spend the rest of the season out after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.
Just hours after Jürgen Klopp confirmed that defender Joe Gomez would be spending the next six to nine months out with an identical injury, the Reds received scan results that confirmed the extent of Ings' injury.
The news comes just days after Ings made his senior international debut for England in their 3-0 win over Lithuania, having earned a call-up from Roy Hodgson for excellent recent form at club level.
The 23-year-old had only reported back from duty on Wednesday afternoon as Klopp took a training session with the full Liverpool squad for the first time, alongside assistants Željko Buvač and Peter Krawietz.
Ings will be forced to undergo surgery on the injury, which will also see him out for up to nine months - leaving Klopp with the injury prone duo Daniel Sturridge and Christian Benteke, as well as teenager Divock Origi as his senior striking options.
Ings joins Gomez on sidelines for the season
Only the day before, Gomez served the Reds' new manager a huge blow - after the extent of his injury had initially been downplayed by England Under-21s' manager Gareth Southgate, who had to bring the 18-year-old off in the 80th minute of his side's comfortable 3-0 win over Kazakhstan on Tuesday night.
Now, Ings has picked up a similar injury after pulling up following an innocuous challenge in his first training session back from international duty at the club's Melwood training ground.
The striker had been in fine form, forcing himself into Roy Hodgson's plans after scoring his first Liverpool goal three minutes after coming off the bench in a 1-1 draw against Norwich City.
He followed that up with further strikes against Carlisle United and Everton, as his stock rose under previous manager Brendan Rodgers. Having made his England debut, Ings will have been hoping to make a similarly imposing first impression on Klopp - but will instead spend a significant portion of this season and the summer rehabilitating.
It leaves his place in the Three Lions' Euro 2016 spot in serious doubt, unless he can recover ahead of schedule, whilst Klopp could be convinced to dip into the January transfer market to bolster his attacking options - with Sturridge renowned for his injury woes over the last 18 months and Benteke currently struggling with a hamstring injury which has kept him out of their last four games.
The fee for Ings, who has scored three in his last five and only joined the club from Burnley on a free transfer this season, has not yet been decided - though an independent panel will assess how much compensation the Clarets are owed via tribunal in the coming weeks.
Klopp takes his first game in charge of the Reds this weekend away at Tottenham Hotspur, with the German also without Gomez, Benteke, captain Jordan Henderson, long-term absentee Jon Flanagan and Roberto Firmino.
Philippe Coutinho and Dejan Lovren have however returned to training following separate injuries and will likely be in the matchday squad for the trip to White Hart Lane - which sees the Reds looking to improve on their current 10th-placed position.