Jon Flanagan sentenced for assault on girlfriend

Liverpool defender Jon Flanagan has been sentenced to 40 hours of unpaid work and a 12-month community order after assaulting his girlfriend at the end of last year.

Flanagan appeared in Liverpool Magistrates' Court on Wednesday morning after assaulting partner Rachael Wall while on a night out in the city on December 22.

The full-back, whose sentence also includes 15 rehabilitation activity days, admitted the charge at an earlier hearing.

Flanagan's first goal for the Reds came in a 5-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in 2013.

The 25-year-old has suffered injury in recent seasons, however, with his only appearance this term coming in a Carabao Cup defeat to Leicester City.