‘Flani Alves’ ready to live up to his nickname

With his injury nightmare now behind him, defender Jon Flanagan is aiming to show Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp just what he can do by pulling up trees with loan club Burnley.

A severe knee injury which required three operations meant the 23-year-old did not kick a ball between making his England debut in June 2014 and his return for Liverpool against Exeter City in January 2016.

Flanagan had been an integral member of the Reds side that challenged for the Premier League title in 2013/14, becoming affectionately christened ‘Flani Alves’ by the Anfield faithful.

Having returned to full fitness he turned down a number of potential suitors to spend a season rebuilding his reputation with Sean Dyche’s Burnley.

(Ian Kington/AFP/Getty Images)

And Flanagan is confident the dark days are behind him.

“The injury happened but hopefully I’m past that now and I can push on to play as many games as I can in the Premier League,” he said.

“It’s very tough and so frustrating, but I’m mentally tough and now I’ve come out the other end positively. It’s been great here so far.

“The lads have made me feel extremely welcome and I’m enjoying training.

“It’s tough for places at Liverpool and the manager said there might not be as much game time.

“I had a couple of options but I spoke to the gaffer here and I felt this was the right place to push on.”