Liverpool love a fighter - and comeback king Ings can conquer latest injury woe

The 24-year-old's defiant reaction to adversity throughout his career - from rejection to empty pockets - can't be practised on a training pitch

If any footballer can come back stronger and steelier from a shattering setback, it's Danny Ings.

That was the overarching theme from the mountain of messages of support, which streamed in following news that the striker will play no further part this season as he undergoes surgery to repair cartilage damage in his right knee.

The 24-year-old’s Liverpool team-mates offered an instant reminder that not only has Ings “cleared every hurdle placed in front of him” - as per Adam Lallana’s Instagram post, but that he has done so with unyielding determination. 

It is the second campaign running that the forward finds himself spending more time facing a gruelling rehabilitation programme, rather than annoying opposition defences with his mix of movement and diligence to stretch the game.

At the same time last year, Ings was in the early stages of recovery after suffering a partial anterior cruciate ligament rupture in his left knee.

The timing of the injury was awful: he was starting and scoring for Liverpool; his tireless performances rewarded by country as he made his England debut against Lithuania just days before doing his ACL.

Jurgen Klopp had just been appointed Liverpool manager, and it was during the attacker’s first training session under the German that he heard a click and knew something wasn’t quite right, without initially suspecting the enormity of matters.

There is probably, quite naturally, the initial flood of disappointment for Ings as he starts from zero again after only just returning to the Anfield turf in the 2-1 EFL Cup victory against Tottenham - over a year since his name was last chanted on L4.

But it was his hardships that defined him, and drove him to become a fan favourite at one of the game’s most storied and sizeable clubs. 

Liverpool love a fighter; supporters fall for and lionise them. Ings has only made 11 appearances for the Reds since his switch from Turf Moor last summer, yet he enjoys reverence from the terraces.

He is relatable. He is likeable. He is a genuinely nice guy, who knows nothing less than going full tilt for the game he has sacrificed so much of himself for.

Ings is a fighter, and Liverpool love a fighter.