Liverpool’s James Milner hails Jon Flanagan after his return from injury

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Flanagan played 105 minutes of the League Cup final second leg against Stoke City.

Liverpool midfielder James Milner appears to have run out of superlatives for defender Jon Flanagan after the 23-year-old made his first start for the Reds in two years on Tuesday as Liverpool progressed to the final of the League Cup.

Flanagan made a cameo comeback in the FA Cup third round replay win over Exeter City six days earlier as a second half substitute but was thrown in from the start against Stoke City on Tuesday following a knee injury sustained by Nathaniel Clyne.

Milner is quoted in the Liverpool Echo, saying: “He just always makes the right decision. The amount of time he’s been out, I don’t think there are too many players who could have come and played 100-odd minutes. The physio has probably pulled him.

“I can’t say more good things about him: the desire, the hard-working that no-one sees in the gym until five or six o’clock every day: the long hours (wondering) am I going to get back? Watching the lads go out and train, play games while you’re stuck in there with the physios – and the physios have put a lot of work in with him as well.

“So to play for the length of time he did and how well he did; Stoke were pretty quiet on that side and they’re a quality team going forward. It was an unbelievable performance from him and amazing to see. The fans want to see a local boy do well. It’s a great story.”

Certainly Flanagan’s reading of the game and defensive capabilities didn’t leave him against the Potters, and he wasn’t shying away from any challenges which is a welcome sight for any Liverpool fan that feels their side has become something of a soft touch over the past couple of years.

Given that he has had little first team game time under his belt, it’s staggering that he was able to last longer than 90 minutes, therefore it is hard to doubt the commitment of the man having thrown himself back into the action like this following two operations on his knee.

It’s a good sign for Liverpool that Flanagan is back in first team contention because the full-backs of Alberto Moreno and Nathaniel Clyne have played a lot of football this season, and there needs to be sufficient competition and cover to both ensure high standards and keep players fresh.