It is November of 2022 and Lukas Nmecha has just scored against Borussia Dortmund in the final game before the World Cup. As one of the top scorers in the Bundesliga over the past season and a half, his place in the Germany squad seems assured.
The decision to switch international allegiance from England to Germany has paid off. The decision to leave Manchester City for Wolfsburg has been spectacularly vindicated. But a knee injury picked up moments before his late goal will rule him out of Qatar.
Nmecha has barely played since.
His comeback in the spring is aborted. Niko Kovac, Wolfsburg's head coach, soon speaks of the need to be mindful of the player's trauma being psychological as well as physical. "It has been a long time since I played consistently," Nmecha tells Sky Sports.
Each of his first two seasons at Wolfsburg have been disrupted now. "I had something similar last year because I had an injury on my ankle, but this one was difficult because I did not know how long it would take before I could start playing again," he explains.
"I am a Christian so I believe that everything happens for a reason. But it was definitely challenging. Especially all the training sessions on my own watching the boys play. You always want to get involved and be part of it. It feels like you are on the outside."
Perhaps surprisingly, Nmecha did watch the World Cup. "A lot of the games." But it was difficult. "Being at that World Cup was one of the goals that I had set myself." It did not help that Germany so obviously needed him. They were eliminated in the group stage.
The recovery has been challenging.
"It was just mainly a day to day thing. I wanted to see the progress in my training sessions, being able to do more. There were a couple of times when the intensity went up and I had some reactions. Through that process it was not always easy to stay positive."
When fit and in form, Nmecha, 24, makes the difference. A physical forward who can cover the ground and finish with composure. Vincent Kompany, his former Man City team-mate and later his boss at Anderlecht, described him as almost complete as a striker.
It was in Belgium that Nmecha underlined his potential. A series of loan moves to the Championship had not gone well. At Middlesbrough, he failed to score in 11 appearances. With Kompany, it was different. He was Anderlecht's top scorer with 21 goals.
"It really shows that not every team is suited to you. When I went to Anderlecht, the manager there and the style of play was just something that I had been used to throughout my time in the City academy so it felt natural to me and it felt comfortable.
"When I am comfortable and happy, I trust myself to do things. I had struggled a bit in the Championship with a completely different type of football. But he spoke to me and convinced me to come. He explained the role that I would play and I just went for it."
Kompany has since shown himself to be a talented young manager in leading Burnley back to the Premier League in his first season. Having played with him and for him, what is that Nmecha thinks sets him apart from the rest? "Definitely experience," he explains.
"Players who have had good careers always have a different aura about them compared to those who have not played the game before. He knows what it means to be a footballer. He chose me but I also chose him in that sense. It has worked out well for both of us."
Nmecha, an England U21 international having moved to the country as an eight-year-old boy, became a senior Germany international in the November after his Anderlecht loan came to an end. The move from Man City to Wolfsburg was a success then?
"I think I am still in the process of adding that next step. I have been held back for two years now by two quite big injuries. In the first season we had a lot of different managers. Now, we have a stable core. I hope this is the year that I push on and go to the next level."
Under Kovac, there is optimism.
"We know pretty much everything that he wants from us." Although Nmecha's brother Felix has departed for Borussia Dortmund, this remains a young group determined to push on after missing on Europe on the final day of last season.
"Last season was very tough for me to watch, especially the last game. But we definitely improved. We are a young and talented team with ambitions and goals to get to the top and definitely to play in Europe. Everyone here is striving to take that next step."
The next step for Nmecha?
After his World Cup frustration, that is obvious.
"We have the Euros in Germany next year so that is the next goal. It is something that is definitely there, a driving force if you want to call it that. But I know that if I want to get selected, I need to perform here. Thankfully, now I can start playing again."
Or so he thought.
Nmecha was speaking to Sky Sports just weeks ago. Nine months on from that first knee injury, he was training with the team and feeling positive. Eager to pick up where he left off. "I played my first 30 minutes the other day," he said with obvious enthusiasm.
But in Wolfsburg's 6-0 cup win at the weekend, after scoring a goal himself, Nmecha felt pain in his knee. He was substituted just before half-time. More mental and physical hurdles for him to overcome. More time on the sidelines inevitable. All that work undone?
For Nmecha, it is a cruel reminder of how fragile plans can be.
Another challenge awaits.