England manager Roy Hodgson is today having to decide whether to call-up Daniel Sturridge against Liverpool's will.
A key figure for club and country, the 25-year-old has missed five matches with a thigh strain suffered on England duty last month.
It is an injury which means Sturridge is not being risked in Liverpool's Champions League clash with Basle on Wednesday, although there is potential for a return against West Brom on Saturday.
That would seemingly open the door to an England call-up for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers with San Marino and Estonia - something Reds boss Brendan Rodgers says should be out of the question.
"He won't be fit to play for England whether he's available for the weekend or not," Rodgers said.
"I don't think he's fit to play for England. We're hoping he can develop over the next 48 hours to be in a position to train with the team on Thursday and maybe be available for the squad on Saturday.
"But if we're talking about players being picked for international duty then they need to be fit and play and Daniel certainly won't be fit."
Rodgers will no doubt be an interested observer when Hodgson announces his squad for this month's matches at Wembley on Thursday.
The England boss may well decide it is not worthwhile irking the Liverpool boss for these games, given the level of opposition and Wayne Rooney's desperation to play.
The 28-year-old will not feature for Manchester United again until November, having picked up a straight red card and three-match ban for foolishly kicking out at Stewart Downing in Saturday's 2-1 defeat of West Ham.
That means England's upcoming European Championship qualifiers will be the only football the forward tastes this month, making him even more excited to captain his country.
"Obviously we got away with it by getting the win, but I am really gutted that I am going to be missing the next three games," Rooney said. "It is hard to take and I am obviously gutted.
"It helps that the England games are coming up, and the training here is really good.
"It is tough and it is getting my fitness up there, so I just have to make sure I train well and be ready for when I come back."
Manchester United team-mates Michael Carrick, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones are expected to miss the squad for these matches, as is teenager Luke Shaw.
The left-back made his first United appearance against Aston Villa but may well instead be part of the England Under-21s squad to face Croatia in the European Championship play-offs.
Shaw has only made three appearances for Gareth Southgate's side and had been hoping to continue with the senior squad after his World Cup experience.
"Everyone wants to play for their country," he said. "Hopefully, I can play in the next couple of games and show I'm up to full fitness to hopefully get picked."
Arsenal's Kieran Gibbs is in the frame to get the nod instead, meaning Tottenham full-back Danny Rose would likely miss out as a result.
Calum Chambers, Fabian Delph and Jack Colback will be hoping to stay involved after gaining their first experience with the national team last month, while Adam Lallana is set for a recall after missing that meet-up through injury.
Lallana's former Southampton team-mate Nathaniel Clyne will be hoping is early season form earns him a first senior call-up, especially given fellow right-backs Kyle Walker and Glen Johnson remain injured.
Source: PA
