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For those who still recall the name Nabil Fekir, it was only when Florian Wirtz's medical had been passed and he was confirmed as a Liverpool player that they allowed themselves to feel a sense of excitement.

However, after successfully completing his medical examinations on Friday without any hitches, Wirtz is now officially the most expensive player in Anfield's history.

Some of the unease for those who still remember how the $67M deal for Fekir dramatically fell through in the summer of 2018 were based on a serious knee injury sustained by Wirtz back in March of 2022 at Leverkusen.

In the Rhineland derby against his former club Koln, Wirtz lost his balance just before the half-hour mark while dribbling against defender Luca Kilian, twisting his left knee in the process.

An MRI scan was carried out almost immediately after Wirtz's withdrawal by Leverkusen, confirming that the attacking midfielder had torn the anterior cruciate ligament.

Florian Wirtz suffered a serious injury in 2022 that kept him out for 43 games.

All that matters now is to take the next steps in training."

During the recovery period, Alonso, who was appointed as Leverkusen boss while Wirtz was sidelined, demonstrated such dedication to monitoring his player's rehabilitation that he regularly showed up at the club's training ground during his days off throughout the World Cup

Florian Wirtz is the latest player to join Liverpool ahead of the 2025/26 season

They also finished as runners-up in the Europa League.

Throughout his recovery in 2022, Wirtz missed out on 43 matches; however, any anxiety that these absences would cause ongoing issues, which sometimes plague players, has been alleviated by Wirtz's subsequent injury record.

An inner ligament injury saw him sidelined for a month between early March and April of the previous season, but that is the only significant issue he's faced since his long-term setback where he missed more than one match, as per Transfermarkt's data.

With Arne Slot and his team successfully maintaining the squad's health for the majority of the last season, contributing significantly to their success, there's real hope that Wirtz will become a fixture in the team for the foreseeable future.

* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story