Michael Owen has been told he will be left out of the Liverpool side - and it is for his sake.
The Anfield star has already formed what looks like a formidable partnership with exciting new prospect El Hadji Diouf, with Emile Heskey losing out to the summer signing.
But manager Gerard Houllier is adamant that Owen will sit out matches too, as Liverpool return to the rotation system that caused so much controversy when Heskey arrived.
Houllier is worried that the World Cup has taken much out of all his international players, and he believes that he will have to act decisively to protect them from the threat of burn-out.
That includes Owen, who suffers periodic bouts of trouble from his hamstrings, and admitted recently that he was not at his best during the World Cup because of niggling injury.
The little striker has made it clear many times in the past that he hates being left out, even to give him a break, most memorably saying: "I'll have plenty of time to rest at the end of my career."
But Houllier sees it differently. He knows that this season is a massive one for Liverpool, as they chase an elusive first title for 12 years, and he wants the striker to remain fit and fresh for the challenges ahead.
Owen has suffered injury problems since first bursting on to the scene as a precocious 17- year-old. Last season, he actually managed only 15 games in which he played the full 90 minutes.
That policy will not change, according to Houllier, who took Owen off early against Southampton on Saturday. "It definitely will happen, that Michael will be rested at some stage," Houllier explained. "I have to do it for the good of the player and the good of the team. After the World Cup, we need to look at him and protect him.
"I want to make sure that we don't burn him out from the beginning.
"We have to look at our World Cup players and I will handle them in different ways, but I will be watching Michael closely, because we don't want to risk any burn-out with him."
Owen is vital not just to Liverpool's title charge, but to England's campaign too, as they attempt to qualify for the European Championship in Portugal in 2004.
But there will be no star treatment for the 22-year-old forward at Anfield, no matter his status. Houllier said: "I know that Michael is reluctant to miss games, but what's the point if you push and push and push him, and he breaks - and then he's out for two months or so? That is not the right approach.
"We have to be careful, we have to be clever with him. You have to give him that break before he breaks, you have to handle it right because it is a delicate situation.
"Michael's mature, he may want to play, but he understands his situation, he knows that he can't keep playing until he breaks, he knows that it is better to rest to keep his condition right. He's the same as anyone else, he needs a break and we will give it to him when the time is right. But that's the great thing about having a big squad - it allows you to do things like that."
On Saturday, Houllier restored Heskey to the starting line-up, after dropping him on the opening day of the season, but used the England man as a left-sided midfielder in a conventional 4-4-2 formation.
Diouf looks an interesting and lively partner for Owen, but that doesn't mean Heskey will be condemned to the wing for the rest of the season, with the Liverpool boss insisting that he will accommodate his big striker in the forward line.
That could see the Merseyside club adopt, on occasions, a 4-3-3 formation, with Diouf supporting the two England stars in an adventurous line-up. "We will sometimes play with three strikers, you can do that if they understand they can't just stand there in front of the D of the penalty area, all lumped together," he said.
"If they do that, then you might as well just play one up front. They have got to have movement, and it has got to be intelligent. For instance, I keep saying you don't have to be a natural winger to play wide, you just need intelligence.
"I don't think David Beckham is a natural wide player, and he prefers to play inside, but he is very effective playing out there. So is Ray Parlour, who is not a natural wide player either. It is a question of being intelligent and adaptable, and that is what I will want when we have three front players."