Liverpool footballer Jon Flanagan charged with common assault after city centre incident

Liverpool footballer Jon Flanagan has been charged with Section 39 common assault following an incident in the city centre last week, Merseyside Police have confirmed.

A spokesman told the Press Association (PA) that the 24-year-old was charged following an incident on Duke Street at around 3.20am on Friday 22 December.

Flanagan was released on conditional police bail and is scheduled to appear at Liverpool City Magistrates' Court on Tuesday 2 January - the day after his current teammates travel to face former loan club Burnley.

"The club has been made aware of an alleged incident involving a member of the first team playing squad," a Liverpool spokesman said in response.

"We will be making no further comment on the matter while the process is ongoing with the relevant authorities."

A Cressington native and academy product, Flanagan has featured 51 times at senior level for boyhood club Liverpool since being handed his first-team debut by Kenny Dalglish in April 2011.

The right-back, who was capped once by England during a pre-World Cup friendly against Ecuador in 2014 and was later placed on standby for the tournament in Brazil, returned to action in January 2016 after multiple knee surgeries kept him on the sidelines for a total of 619 days.

After making eight appearances under Jurgen Klopp during the second half of the 2015-16 campaign and putting pen to paper on a new long-term contract, Flanagan subsequently joined newly-promoted Burnley on a season-long loan but played just 10 times during a disappointing stint at Turf Moor.

The defender, a popular figure among supporters who was previously dubbed as the "Scouse Cafu", featured regularly for Liverpool during pre-season but has been restricted to just one competitive appearance to date in 2017-18 - a 90-minute outing in the 2-0 Carabao Cup third-round defeat to Leicester City on 19 September - despite a long-term injury to first-choice right-back Nathaniel Clyne.

Behind the likes of Joe Gomez and teenager Trent Alexander-Arnold in Klopp's defensive pecking order, he was left as an unused substitute for the top-flight defeat of Crystal Palace in August and the Champions League draw with Spartak Moscow in Russia.

Following their 5-0 drubbing of hapless bottom club Swansea City on Boxing Day, fourth-place Liverpool host Leicester on Saturday in their final match of 2017 before that aforementioned meeting with Burnley is followed by an FA Cup Merseyside Derby against local rivals Everton and the visit of dominant league leaders Manchester City to Anfield.