It has been nearly 21 months since Dele Alli last played a game of professional football. It has been over two years since he took to a pitch in England.
The football world is desperate to see the former England international happy and strutting his stuff once again. At his peak, he was one of the world's most electrifying and thrilling talents, the boy wonder with a chip on his shoulder.
For various reasons, Dele is not the same player he was in his younger days, and his brave revelations about his troubled upbringing, which included sexual abuse throughout his childhood, brought about appropriate sympathy for his struggles both past and present, on the field and off it.
Though there have been some suggestions he could choose to retire, Dele may well have more to give to the game of football as a player. Teams are drawing up plans for the January transfer window and may even look to strengthen their ranks beforehand with a move for the free agent.