Liverpool and England man to put injury nightmare behind him with 45-minute appearance

JON FLANAGAN is nearing a return to competitive football after his second appearance for the Liverpool under-21s.

 

Jon Flanagan is one of a number of Liverpool players on the injury comeback trail

 

The 23-year-old missed the whole of the 2014-15 season with a knee problem, having had an operation in September 2014 and then another in April 2015.

However, having signed a new contract last May to allow him to continue his recovery, Flanagan returned to first-team training last month before playing half an hour for the U-21s against Fleetwood.

And now the England defender has made it through 45 minutes against Morecambe without any scares or potential recurrence, an achievement which gives U-21s manager Michael Beale a lot of pride.

 

"It was great to give Flanno 45 minutes after his half an hour against Fleetwood," Beale said after the 4-0 win.

"He did very well and is looking stronger and he will now look to push on in the next few weeks and get some more minutes."

Flanagan was not the only one on the comeback trail, as fellow full-back Jose Enrique was named in the starting lineup as did young midfielder Kevin Stewart.

 

"Jose did very well and is getting stronger and he will benefit from the 90 minutes," Beale added.

"Kevin was excellent for us in his comeback and that was his first outing since injury back in September."