Arne Slot has confirmed news of a significant body blow for Liverpool ahead of their Premier League clash against Newcastle on Wednesday night.
Towards the end of last week’s 2-2 draw at Aston Villa, Conor Bradley pulled up and had to be substituted – having earlier replaced Trent Alexander-Arnold – joining Joe Gomez, Tyler Morton and Cody Gakpo on the treatment table.
Thankfully the latter returned in the weekend win over Manchester City, but unfortunately it’s now become clear that we won’t be seeing the Northern Ireland international any time soon
Slot confirms Bradley injury setback
In his pre-match press conference on Tuesday morning, Slot was asked for injury updates on his squad, and he relayed some unwelcome news on Bradley.
The 46-year-old said (via Liverpool FC on YouTube): “Conor is out for a few weeks. I cannot detail exactly how many, but he went off a muscle injury and it will take a while before he’s back.”
There was a more cheerful update on Alexis Mac Allister, who incurred facial injuries from a clash with Omar Marmoush on Sunday but is set to train with his teammates today ahead of the Newcastle game.
Slot will now be hugely reliant on Trent to stay fit
Having already missed a month’s worth of action with a previous hamstring injury earlier this season, this latest update on Bradley will be a real concern for Slot and Liverpool, who’ll now be heavily reliant on Trent to remain fit for the next three months.
With Gomez also set to miss most of what’s left of the 2024/25 campaign, right-back alternatives to the vice-captain are extremely thin on the ground. We could yet see Jarell Quansah deployed in that role, having deputised on the flanks in the 3-3 draw at Newcastle in December.
The Reds aren’t yet in crisis territory when it comes to defensive availability, but a setback to our number 66 would plunge us right into the mire at a time when, despite being out of the FA Cup, we still have five matches to negotiate between now and mid-March.
Hopefully Bradley will make as swift a recovery as possible and might be fit for a return to action once next month’s international break is out of the way. In the meantime, keep every finger cross that Trent doesn’t join the injury list!
