Arne Slot has delivered a new injury setback to Liverpool ahead of their Premier League clash with Nottingham Forest this weekend, with Conor Bradley out for a sustained period.
The Reds return from the international break with Saturday’s visit of Forest, in what represents a must-win game for the reigning champions.
While Alisson has every chance of returning for Liverpool after a lengthy absence, the injury problems aren’t going away, with Slot confirming that Bradley is out for several weeks and Florian Wirtz is also unavailable this weekend.
“Florian Wirtz suffered a muscle injury and won’t be available this weekend. Conor Bradley also suffered a muscle injury. I expect Bradley to be out for the next three weeks; for Florian, it should be shorter.”
Bradley must rid himself of injury problems
Bradley is such an exciting and talented young right-back for Liverpool, with Pep Guardiola saying he can “do everything” and Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill also heaping praise on him:
“I think the one thing about any young player who comes up and obviously plays for a club like Liverpool is that they don’t change. That’s the biggest compliment I could give Conor since I’ve known him from when he played in our Under-16s, watched his progress, watched him play on loan at Bolton and what he has to do now to play at a club like Liverpool.”
Unfortunately, Bradley is finding it hard to stay fit for long periods, however, which is stunting his growth as a player, not allowing him to improve at the speed Liverpool will be hoping.
The fact that Jeremie Frimpong is also injured currently only makes the situation worse, with Slot potentially having to once again use Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back, which is far from ideal, not least because he has been the Reds’ best midfielder so far this season.
Calvin Ramsay is also an option, but the youngster is hugely inexperienced at this level, so it would be a surprise if he was drafted into the starting lineup for such an important game, as Liverpool desperately look to get back to winning ways.