Image Credits: Imago Images
Conor Bradley sustained a serious knee injury in the dying moments of Thursday night’s goalless draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. The 22-year-old Northern Ireland international went down clutching his knee after appearing to twist it while chasing a loose ball near the touchline during stoppage time.
The incident sparked controversy when Arsenal’s Gabriel Martinelli dropped the ball on the injured Bradley and attempted to shove him off the pitch to restart play. Martinelli’s actions drew fierce criticism from pundits including Gary Neville, who called it “absolutely disgraceful”. The Brazilian winger later apologised via Instagram, stating he “didn’t realise he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment”.
Reacting to the incident, Arne Slot said in his post-match press conference: “I don’t know Gabriel Martinelli but he comes across as a nice guy.”
“The problem for him, and it’s a problem in general in football, is that there is so much time-wasting in the final parts of games that sometimes you can be annoyed when you want to score a goal and you feel a player is pretending to be injured. I’m 100 per cent sure if he knew what the injury might be, he wouldn’t do that.”
However, footage coming from the Emirates last night as shown Conor Bradley leaving the stadium in a protective boot as well as on crutches, with journalist Pablo Montano posting on X:
‼️ Conor Bradley abandona el Emirates Stadium en muletas y con una protección en la rodilla.
El lateral norirlandés se lesionó en el tiempo añadido vs Arsenal y tuvo que abandonar el terreno de juego en camilla. “No pinta bien”, ha dicho Arne Slot. #LFC pic.twitter.com/6VB36v6gMb
— Pablo Montaño (@pabmontano) January 8, 2026
The Reds now await scan results to determine the full extent of the injury
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