Ahead of Liverpool’s Community Shield meeting with Arsenal, sources close to the club had privately insisted that Trent Alexander-Arnold would be fit to feature.
While the young Scouser’s absence from a pre-season training camp served to cast doubt upon his involvement, he had been following a bespoke programme at Melwood aimed at readying him for a run-out at Wembley.
But then a starting XI shorn of the double-barrelled full-back appeared on Saturday afternoon, and was followed by a Reds performance that could only be categorised as tepid in large parts.
It appeared that off-the-record declarations regarding Alexander-Arnold’s condition were made more in hope rather than expectation.
In Pictures | Arsenal vs Liverpool, Community Shield | 29/08/2020
The 21-year-old’s failure to make the squad was later explained as purely precautionary, and he is in line to report for England duty this morning.
Unfortunately, today is too late to save Liverpool from an unwelcome reminder of his importance to this team.
The problems his replacement, Neco Williams, had in dealing with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang should come as no surprise.
The Arsenal striker is a world-class performer capable of giving even the most experienced defenders - not least Alexander-Arnold himself - a torrid time.
But it was on the other side of the ball that the influence of Liverpool’s first-choice right-back was truly spelled out.
In selecting Fabinho, Gini Wijnaldum and James Milner together here, Jurgen Klopp reprised his habit of naming midfield comprising more graft than craft.
However, its recent successes have come in setting a platform for two remarkable full-backs and, with one of them missing for this contest, that composition at times looked limited.
Hints of how such a selection has worked in the past could be seen in the performance of Andy Robertson who, for the first hour of the match, was Liverpool’s most creative player by some distance.
The Scot only surrendered that mantle in the second half when, having clearly seen enough, Klopp withdrew Williams and introduced Naby Keita and Takumi Minamino.
Joe Gomez’s move to right-back was a tacit admission that the champions were no longer even looking to create from that position, instead they were going to search for gaps through the middle.
And that call was rewarded as a Minamino attempt to quicken the play from deep resulted in him finding the back of the net for the first time in a Liverpool shirt.
Klopp’s change of tack had come too late for Liverpool to win the match, though, leaving the lottery of penalties to decide the destination of this year’s Community Shield.
While the winners of this competition typically consider it the springboard to a successful campaign, the losers are more inclined to describe it as a ‘glorified friendly’.
But, even in defeat, there is a chance that Saturday’s game can prove just as important to Klopp should it result in a timely realisation.
The German’s call to lock down his midfield in the summer of 2018 has resulted in a glorious period in Anfield history, the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, Club World Cup and Premier League having been added to the trophy cabinet since.
Yet it is becoming increasingly apparent that the success of this approach is entirely contingent upon both Robertson and Alexander-Arnold being available.
The latter in particular has revolutionised his position, effectively operating as Liverpool’s most creative midfielder despite starting games in defence.
And so, if the more archetypal right-back Williams is to serve as Alexander-Arnold’s back-up this year, then greater thrust through the middle is required whenever the latter is unable to feature.
In fact, that may be the case regardless of the identity of the Reds’ starting full-backs, with opponents sure to go to even greater lengths to stifle that creative source out wide this term.
It is in that context that interest in Thiago Alcantara makes sense, though Liverpool remain firm in their stance that the Bayern Munich star will not be signed unless departures necessitate midfield reinforcements.
Georginio Wijnaldum’s delicate contract situation and links with Barcelona mean that remains a genuine possibility before the transfer window closes on October 5.
But, until that point, it seems Alexander-Arnold is destined to continue in his role as the champions’ most important midfielder, starting on the right-hand side of defence.