IT is easy to take an injured player's prognosis as gospel and discard them from our thoughts until that deadline comes.
For the player in question, the injury can mean a long, frustrating and painful personal journey with - crucially - nothing guaranteed.
Serious injuries can disrupt development, damage confidence or - in the most extreme cases - even destroy a career.
Timing can mean the implications of an injury to a footballer can be the difference between the next contract and uncertainty.
Saints defender Dynel Simeu knew that surgery on his ruptured Achilles tendon in August would make playing again this season unlikely.
"My first concern was that it was during the transfer window and I am in the last year of my contract," he told the Daily Echo.
"I knew I needed to be playing to either impress here or elsewhere. My first thought was that this was the wrong timing.
"After a few weeks, I realised there is never a good time for an injury - you're never prepared to get injured," Simeu continued.
"So I had to look at the positives. I am a Southampton boy and I could do my rehab at home with my family and support system around me.
"But at first, I was asking 'What is it? What is it? I thought it was something different, I thought I had just been kicked in the calf."
The man there to answer that question for Simeu was Chris Onoufriou, Southampton's current lead physiotherapist for the under-21s.
Onoufriou, formerly a beach soccer player for Eastleigh, graduated from physiotherapy at the University of Southampton in 2017.
"You're a part-time psychologist and part-time physio at the same time," Onoufriou explained, having invited us to join him for a group session.
"It's all about building relationships with the players because we are the front line with them and they will offload to us.
"Without them trusting you, you have got no chance. You don't want them to hide stuff and you want to be able to manage expectations.
"The other half is the players themselves as you'll get some who go all-in right from the start to get back but others will struggle.
"The hardest bit is when a player doesn't meet the rough plan you've set out and they question why it's not seven months like you've told them."
So what actually happens when a player is injured? Saints medical staff have spent years curating their player rehabilitation pathway.
Injured players will sit with the head of medical, doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists and sometimes coaches to determine roughly how long rehab will be.
If surgery is involved, the surgeon will strictly always be included in these discussions and they will be the case manager.
They look to work players through five phases; recalibrate, reload, regain, reintegrate and return to performance.
The early initial management phase might be focused on understanding and nutrition, including the prescription of vitamins and Collagen for recovery.
The player then moves through the pathway with specific movement re-training, regaining strength and re-introducing football work, re-introduction to team training or matchdays and finally continued monitoring of progress after their full return.
It is a balance of science and art, Onoufriou insists; you can empirically measure so much but progress through phases comes down to feeling.
Under-21s star Dom Ballard also required surgery for a major Patella tendon injury, another with a long lay-off, this season.
"Achilles and Patella tendon are probably the longest rehabs you can have - ACL is long but they're even longer," Onoufriou admitted.
"With Dynel, he is super focused. He knows what he wants to achieve and is determined to get there.
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— Tom Wallace (@TomWallace1996) March 21, 2024
"He has been on it every single day and from that point of view, he is a dream to work with - because of that mentality, he will be fine."
Simeu's early phase was about giving the tendon time to heal but had to be balanced with not allowing it to become stiff and risk reduced range.
He worked on movement deficits he had before his injury before being able to work on functional movements.
Running on grass came six months into his rehab, with a couple of days on the pitch and then a couple off for tendon regeneration.
"My recovery has been good. At the start, there was a lot of progress, and then you hit some roadblocks along the way," Simeu said.
"I got back on the pitch but started to feel not as great so we had to go back to the drawing board and cater the plan to my needs.
"I am in a good place so hopefully there is not long left. It is my first injury and it is a long one so that is hard to deal with."
Although the light at the end of the tunnel can be dim, there is one tried and tested method to get footballers to produce a smile.
"Even when they are in the gym doing a balance session, we will try and get the balls out as much as possible," Onoufriou said.
"How long can you stand on one leg for? Boring. How long can you stand on one leg while doing a couple of headers? Brilliant.
"Then every time the ball touches the floor, you give them five press-ups. Any challenge like that makes it engaging."
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— Tom Wallace (@TomWallace1996) March 21, 2024
Rather than keep the players stirring within the same four walls, Saints encourage opportunities to get away from Staplewood.
The club have memberships for the local David Lloyd gym and a gymnastics centre to mix up their surroundings.
Ballard was given time to holiday in the sun while Simeu visited Cameroon for 10 days to attend a family wedding.
They will be armed with a plan to keep their recovery ticking over but it will be no more than an hour of work a day.
A big focus is put on goals away from recovery.
Through the rehab's five phases, football analysis is pushed to build an understanding of Southampton's philosophy and opposition.
Players will study online video clips or even senior team sessions before giving presentations to coaches on what they have learned.
They may also be giving something away from football to focus on. This could be learning a language or even DJ lessons.
Onoufriou insisted: 'It allows them to unwind and get away from it, they work so hard when they're in rehab.
"We gave Dynel options but he already speaks another language and he wants to be out on the dancefloor - not behind the decks."
Asked about his choice, Simeu revealed: "We go swimming every week, I couldn't swim at all before but I am alright at it now.
"My goal is to be able to jump off a boat. I think it's the scariest thing.
"I don't know when that will happen, but that is my future aim. Once I have conquered that, I'll be good!"
It is not only a cliche manager's response that injured players can improve certain aspects as a player despite being sidelined.
If a player is skinny, they will be made to smash the gym - something there is no time for in a typical playing schedule.
Injured players spend many more hours at the training ground than their fit counterparts and have plenty of time to build.
It is up to them to maximise - they can only be given the tools by club staff, although Saints do boast an impressive medical centre.
Saints players have access to an anti-gravity treadmill, a hyperbaric chamber to provide 100 per cent oxygen and blow-up igloos that can be heated to simulate warm weather inside.
They have freezing-cold cryotherapy, electrotherapy and Tecar machines - an ultrasound-like therapy to reduce pain and stimulate tissue repair.
Even down to the under-18s, the first age group in the professional development phase, players will get one-to-one physio time.
The club brings in a breathing expert, manufacturers of specialist beds and uses sleeping sprays for relaxation during travel.
The day after every game, players will be given an 'MOT' by medical staff.
"At Saints, we're really lucky because all the staff are driven to be forward-thinking," Onoufriou insisted.
"Nothing is coming in in the future that is going to change everything but as a collective, we're always looking at an extra per cent."
Simeu added: "I knew I had a club well-equipped with good people around me so that all changed my mindset quickly.
"For a while after my surgery, I could not move from my bed as I had to keep my leg elevated.
"I was very grateful to be at home. My mum looked after me and cooked me great meals and my dad was always around to give me advice - whether I wanted to hear it or not!"
Simeu now has to hope that a manager somewhere in the Football League will put their trust in him this summer.
The Southampton-local, former Chelsea lad has already impressed in loans at the likes of Carlisle, Tranmere and Morecambe.
He may have to rely on that bank of experience already built if he is cruelly denied the chance to play again this term.
Simeu is not the first player to be injured in such circumstances and will not be the last - you want all of them to have their comeback.
"My contract end is coming up and I know that I will be leaving at the end of the season," he said.
"The worst thing with injury is knowing you can't affect what comes next, everything you have done is in the past.
"I couldn't turn down the opportunity to play for this club, loads of my friends are Southampton supporters and it has been an honour.
"I have already got over 50 games in the Football League so I believe I should be good. I go with faith every day.
"I believe everything happens for a reason and I have that tattooed on my skin. I believe I will come back stronger, wherever I belong."
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