With a crucial trip to The Etihad fast-approaching, Liverpool will have to square off against Manchester City in the absence of one particular ace as Cody Gakpo also faces a late fitness call.
Liverpool injury news
Whilst it’s far from time to panic for Liverpool, cracks are beginning to appear in Arne Slot’s side for the first time in his debut campaign. Wednesday’s 2-2 draw against Aston Villa was as frustrating as it gets as they dropped points for the second time in three Premier League games and Darwin Nunez stole the headlines for all the wrong reasons once again.
As Diogo Jota and Nunez stumbled in front of goal, it looked clearer than it has been all season just how reliant Liverpool are on Mohamed Salah, who scored and assisted yet again to drag Slot’s frontline to a point at Villa Park.
What then compounded a difficult evening was another injury blow. Already, the Reds are set to be without Joe Gomez for almost the rest of the campaign, whilst Gakpo faces a race to make his return against Manchester City after missing the last two games. Now, Slot has a fresh injury concern.
As confirmed by the Dutchman, Conor Bradley is now set to miss the Manchester City game and the Newcastle United game in midweek at the very minimum after being forced off through injury not long after emerging from the bench against Aston Villa.
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Slot told reporters: “No [clarity], he still has to come in. I would be surprised if he is involved Sunday or against Newcastle. Joe Gomez has had surgery, out for a long time, maybe back before the end of the season. Jota and Trent didn’t play 90 because they have only just come back.”
“Complete” Bradley’s injury comes at worst time
With another crucial week approaching at the end of a gruelling run of fixtures for Liverpool, Bradley’s injury has come at the worst time.
With Trent Alexander-Arnold only able to play around an hour against Villa, himself, it’s clear that the Northern Ireland international would have had a role to play against both Manchester City and Newcastle. Now, Slot must turn towards an Alexander-Arnold who may not be ready for back-to-back 90 minutes.
In truth, it’s been a frustrating season for Bradley following an impressive breakthrough last time out. Disrupted by injuries, the right-back has only been able to show Slot glimpses of what he’s capable of.
It sums up just how much potential the academy graduate has, however, that even in those smaller glimpses he has stood out to earn praise from the likes of Jacek Kulig. The football talent scout dubbed Bradley “the definition of a complete full-back” following his performance against Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup earlier this month.