Liverpool FC have announced that defender Jon Flanagan has signed a new contract with the club, adding an additional one year to his deal, which was due to run out during the next two months.

Flanagan has missed the whole of this season due to a recurring knee problem, which he has had two operations for. Despite this, it is believed that he remains a key part of Brendan Rodgers' plans for years ahead.

Flanagan was handed his debut by Kenny Daglish in 2012, but broke into the first team during last season's title challenge, playing ahead of Aly Cissokho and Jose Enrique in an unfamiliar left-back role. Flanagan excelled, doing enough to convince Liverpool officials that he deserved a new deal, avoiding the chance of other clubs signing him on a free this summer.

Rodgers commented on Flanagan's new deal: "It has just been unfortunate for him because he was about to sign a new deal just before the injury. Obviously his representatives and the club have been in talks, his deal was running out in the summer. He's a very important player for us. Medically, we have to look after him now as well because he's had quite a bad injury there that we've had to look at. But all the medics are saying that he's going to come back stronger and healthier. That's the most important thing. He has got a long road ahead of him over the next four to six months but I'm sure he'll get his rewards at the end of that.

We're hoping that he can get back fit within the next year; it has been a long journey for him this last 18 months and in particular the last year of injury. Hopefully he can get back fit and get back into the team - he has been a huge miss for us this season. Jon is a young player and it was probably difficult for him when I first came in, he didn't have a lot of opportunities and there weren't many opportunities to go on loan. But he's a wonderful example for all young players about perseverance. He kept working tirelessly in training to the point where I then felt he was ready to be put in.

He played away at Arsenal in a game when Glen Johnson got injured late on, and did very well. Then after that the turning point for him was the derby game at Goodison where he was Man of the Match. From that, he never looked back. He was very impressive in his composure and calmness. I remember a performance at Old Trafford where he was exceptional. People talk about the goalscorers this year and absolutely the goalscorers that we miss, but we definitely missed Jon Flanagan in equal proportion. Because of his aggression, he's very tenacious and he's a very good footballer."