The player was Andy Carroll from the English Premier League's Newcastle United, who had been targeted by Liverpool as a replacement for Fernando Torres.

A tall and powerful forward, and a proven goal-scorer, there were only two problems: Carroll had a torn thigh muscle, and the clock was ticking.

It was transfer deadline day, and the cut-off point for moves between club, midnight, was approaching. In the afternoon, Torres, courted by Chelsea and wanting out, paced up and down the sidelines at Liverpool's training ground, Melwood.

But the disillusioned Spaniard's exit hinged on Carroll getting the green light. That's where Brukner, Liverpool's head of sports medicine and sports science, came in.

It was the job of the Melbourne doctor, who is now touring with the Australian cricket team on the subcontinent, to make sure the Merseyside giants were not buying a crock. He was not dealing with loose change - Liverpool would be outlaying £35 million.

''At about 6pm he [Carroll] turned up in a helicopter and we raced him away to begin the medical,'' Brukner said. A full medical would usually take six or seven hours, but he did not have that long.

''It got to around 10 o'clock at night and we got the scans done and we basically had to make a decision there and then. Were we going to give the nod to the club to break their transfer record and buy a player for £35m or were we going to say no and leave the club without a striker for the rest of the season? Basically it was my call.

''There were hundreds of supporters outside burning Torres shirts, it was just unbelievable. We had to take Andy Carroll from the training ground, where we had the examination part of the medical, to the hospital for his scans. I put him in my car and they were following us all the way. It was an absolute circus. It was an amazing day.''

With a late-night phone call to Liverpool's then director of football, Damien Comolli, Brukner gave his approval, and the 5½-year deal was done. Torres was sold to Chelsea for £50 million on the same evening.

As it turned out, neither player has turned out to be a success at the clubs they were sold to that January night.

But Brukner's central role in soccer's last minute horse-trading would be a lasting memory of his two seasons at Anfield, a high-pressure period in which he worked with three managers: Rafa Benitez, Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish.

The doctor later knocked back another player. ''He was signed by another club the next day, and broke down in his first club. While you don't wish ill on anyone, that did make us feel a bit justified,'' says Brukner. The Socceroos doctor at their last World Cup campaign, he joined Liverpool shortly afterwards in 2010, and boasts a CV that includes stints with the national athletics, swimming and men's hockey teams, and with Collingwood and Melbourne in the AFL.

A pioneering figure of sports medicine in Australia, Brukner has finally come full circle to his first sporting passion, cricket. And in the leader of the Australian team in India he sees great similarities with Liverpool captain Steve Gerrard.

''Stevie was very good to work with, very professional. I still keep in touch with him,'' Brukner said. ''He reminds me of Michael Clarke. They dot every I, cross every T. They're super-talented, but you can see why they get to the top of their profession, because they're totally committed and do all the right things.''

Brukner's role with Australia's cricketers in India is wide-reaching. From managing injuries, overseeing vitamins and supplements to taking on that perennial subcontinental enemy: gastroenteritis.

''India is a challenge,'' he said. ''So far we've had a few little minor upsets, but nothing serious that's wiped people out. We do everything we can.''