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The Liverpool captain was in a dark place.

There were late nights spent trawling through YouTube as Jordan Henderson looked for answers to the debilitating injury which had derailed his Anfield career.

A broken metatarsal in his right foot sustained on his return to training at Melwood in mid-September hadn’t helped his mood but it was the problem which had sidelined him for the previous month that was keeping him awake into the early hours.

It was back in April that Henderson first started suffering from discomfort in his left heel. However, an annoying ache exploded into something much more serious during Liverpool’s win over Stoke on the opening weekend of the new season in August.

Having only just succeeded Steven Gerrard as skipper, Henderson was desperate not to miss out. Painkillers got him on the field for the following home clash with Bournemouth but he had to admit defeat as he limped off in the second half.

It would be 104 long days before he pulled on a Liverpool shirt again. He was diagnosed with plantar fasciitis – a thickening of the plantar fascia which is a band of tissue running underneath the sole of the foot.

'I haven't been myself - I worried quite a lot'

“I haven’t been nice to be around for the last three months,” admitted the Reds midfielder, who made his long-awaited comeback for Jurgen Klopp’s resurgent side in the win over Swansea last weekend.

“It’s been incredibly difficult. It’s the longest time I’ve ever been out for. I haven’t been myself. I worried about it quite a lot.

“When it was unbearable every time I planted my foot it was like a burny, stabbing, nervy pain. Even when I was just lying in bed there was pain in my foot.”

Liverpool’s head of physiotherapy Chris Morgan proved a pillar of support as they embarked on an extensive global search for the best treatment.

They discovered there was no cure, no quick fix. It’s a condition which can only be managed.

There was a trip to see American specialist Dr John Cozzarelli in New Jersey where Henderson underwent a series of injections. Morgan sought advice from experts in the fields of cricket, baseball, rugby union and even ballet – where heel injuries are common.

Henderson also spoke with Jamie Carragher, who was the last Liverpool player to be hampered by a similar issue.

'There isn’t a timescale, there isn’t really a cure'

“I spoke to Carra briefly and we also spoke to quite a few experts and doctors all over the world to try and nip it in the bud,” Henderson said.

“I went to New Jersey when we went down the nerve route, I came back and that is when I went training to try it and broke my other foot. Then I saw a couple of specialists in London and Chris Morgan has spoken to a few people worldwide.

“With my metatarsal I knew exactly what kind of time scale I’d be out for so you can really focus on each step and what you need to do. But with my heel there isn’t a timescale, there isn’t really a cure.

“That’s been the most difficult part, never knowing how long it would be before I was back, especially considering I haven’t missed too many games over the past few years.

“I’d go online trying to find different things that maybe someone hadn’t seen. At times you do get down.

“It’s been hard but I’ve had good people around me like Chris and all the staff here. They have been amazing, not just in terms of trying to find a cure but in supporting me. I can’t thank them enough.”

Liverpool put the problem down to Henderson’s gruelling workload for both club and country and the fact he’s repeatedly had a shortened summer break. The onset of his symptoms also coincided with a change of boots in April.

'It will probably just rupture and that might be the relief that is needed'

Any link with Alex Ferguson’s infamous comments in his autobiography about how Henderson’s “gait” might cause him problems because “he runs from his knees with a straight back” has been dismissed by medics.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with my gait,” Henderson said. “That didn’t bother me at the time and it won’t bother us now. All I am focusing on is getting back on the training pitch and contributing in games which is where I want to be.”

The improvement in Henderson’s situation has come from a combination of taping the heel, using different footwear and a range of injections, including nerve blocks.

JAMES PEARCE TALKS ABOUT JORDAN HENDERSON'S INJURY

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Injections carry the risk that the fascia could eventually tear and lead to another spell on the sidelines, but specialists have told Liverpool that in itself could provide the long-term solution as it would relieve the build up of pressure and then heal.

Until that happens both the England international’s training schedule and his minutes on the field need to be managed carefully.

“There is nothing that seems set in stone,” he said.

“A lot of people say keep doing the cortisone injections and eventually it will probably just rupture and that might be the relief that is needed.

“People have had a rupture before and been out for a few months, others have been out a week or two and then they are back because it is that relief. That is the problem with it, you don’t really know what you are going to get with it but I just have to keep going and see what happens.”

'It has made me realise what I have got'

Half an hour against Swansea was followed by another 20-minute cameo in Wednesday night’s stunning 6-1 thrashing of Southampton in the Capital One Cup.

Henderson came through unscathed ahead of Sunday’s trip to Newcastle but admits doubts still linger.

He added: “It is much better now and I am getting very little if any pain but there is always that consciousness 'is it going to come back?'.

“I don’t want for it to come back to the pain that it suddenly was before. When I am coming on all I am focusing on is trying to play my best and give everything to the team, but there are maybe times in the game when I feel it a little bit and I am thinking ‘is it back?’.

“I just need to forget about that and concentrate on playing football. If it comes back, it comes back. There is nothing I can do about that.

“Now I’m at a point where I can function – where I can train and start playing some part in games. Hopefully as I take my load up my foot doesn’t really react too much. It’s just a matter of time before it gets back to normal. I’m in the best place I’ve been with it so far. Now I want to contribute.”

Being denied the chance to do what he loves most over the past three-and-a-half months changed Henderson.

“It has made me realise what I have got,” he added. “You take a back seat and you realise how important football is. It is pretty hard just to sit and watch a game because I haven’t known anything different but playing.

“You definitely appreciate things a lot more and it shows how much it means to you and how much you want to get back.”