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Maintaining a Premier League top-four challenge while progressing deep into the Champions League is, by any standards, a laudable accomplishment.

But when Jurgen Klopp pondered Liverpool's campaign six weeks ago, he was struck by a significant realisation.

“Maybe one of the biggest achievements of that team is that they could play a season so far like they have played without Adam Lallana,” said the Reds boss. “I never would have thought it’s possible.

“And so we are all desperately waiting for him, and now coming step by step back, and now this – it’s a big, big blow for us.”

Klopp's comments came just after Lallana had limped out of the 2-1 win at Crystal Palace on March 31 with a hamstring problem just minutes after emerging from the bench.

It's been that kind of season for Lallana, a campaign decimated by the thigh injury sustained during the Audi Cup win over Atletico Madrid in August.

The damage was more serious than first feared. Nevertheless, Lallana's natural enthusiasm and athleticism persuaded Liverpool to thrust him back into action by November, a decision Klopp later admitted was a mistake following a further setback.

As a consequence, Lallana has played just 220 minutes this season in the Premier League, with one 90-minute appearance in the Champions League and a 70-minute run-out in the FA Cup.

(Image: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Compare that to last season when he made 35 appearances, or the season before when he played 49 times, swiftly becoming the “leader of the press” after Klopp's arrival in October 2015.

Now, on the day of his 30 birthday, Lallana stands at something of a crossroads in his Anfield career.

That Liverpool have progressed to the Champions League final and be on the brink of a second-successive top-four finish largely without him will not have passed unnoticed, the team having developed in his absence.

Long-term, though, can wait. Of more immediate concern for Lallana is the impact he can make in the final two games of the season – and if he can force his way into England's World Cup squad.

Chelsea's shock draw at home to Huddersfield Town on Wednesday has eased some of the pressure for Liverpool this weekend, with only a point needed against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday to guarantee Champions League qualification.

That may come too soon for Lallana, although the midfielder was back in full training this week.

The big one, of course, is the Champions League final on May 26 against Real Madrid in Kiev.

Even from the bench, Lallana could have a role to play, providing Klopp a senior creative option he has been without for much of the run-in.

(Image: John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

Indeed, witness the impact Vladimir Smicer, Dietmar Hamann and Djibril Cisse made as substitutes in Istanbul in 2005.

England boss Gareth Southgate is a huge fan of Lallana and will give him every chance to prove his fitness before naming his 23-man squad for Russia by June 4.

And myriad are the tales of players who have sat out much of the campaign only to come good during a World Cup, refreshed and with a point to prove in comparison to more weary competitors.

Lallana may only have two more chances for Liverpool this season, at best bit-parts.

But he still has an awful at stake – for both this campaign and beyond.