Jürgen Klopp hailed the return of Jon Flanagan to Liverpool's first-team as one of the highlights of a comfortable 3-0 FA Cup victory over Exeter City at Anfield on Wednesday evening.
The full-back ended a spell of 619 days without a first-team appearance for the Reds after a knee injury by replacing Connor Randall on the right side of defence after 51 minutes.
In the end, it was a routine victory for Jürgen Klopp's charges - who overcame their League Two opponents at the second attempt, as goals from Joe Allen, Sheyi Ojo and Joao Carlos Teixeira secured the win and progression to the fourth-round.
That sets them up with a date against fellow Barclays Premier League outfit West Ham United later this month, but though pleased to reach the next round, Klopp insisted that Flanagan's "emotional" comeback and the reception the local-born No.38 received from the home crowd was especially memorable.
Boss delighted to have Scouse defender back
Speaking to reporters after the full-time whistle, Klopp called it "a great moment" when Flanagan came off the bench, referring to the "long time" he has spent on the sidelines.
He revealed that he hasn't had the 23-year-old "too often in training until now" because the medical staff said they must be "really careful with him."
The German added that they stressed that "high intensity is now allowed" and instead his current schedule is "always training, break, training, break, recovery" despite having had "a few minutes" for the Under-21s.
Klopp impressed by fans' reception of Flanagan return
On the decision to bring him on so early into the second-half, he explained that Randall "had a little problem with a muscle" and said they wanted to use "the opportunity" to bring Flanagan on, saying it was "a really emotional moment" when he was introduced.
Klopp praised how "really good" it was that "the whole stadium stood up and clapped their hands" and claimed that "nobody deserved it more than him" because it's such "an unbelievably long time" since he last played.
The Reds boss added that since he arrived in early October, Flanagan has "always been injured" but yet "never in a bad mood" and called his attitude "unbelievable" and lauded him as "a really strong lad."
He insisted that he hopes the defender's recvoery now "goes on" and said they must see how he feels after the game and "take it day-by-day" but labelled it "one of the best [pieces of] news" the club could have, that he's back in the senior squad.