Liverpool manager Arne Slot admits it’s “really difficult” to predict when Northern Ireland star Conor Bradley will return from his serious knee injury.
Bradley has been out of action since January after undergoing surgery on an injury suffered in a Premier League draw against Arsenal.
It forced the 22-year-old to miss Northern Ireland’s World Cup play-off semi-final defeat to Italy in March and he’ll also be absent from June’s pair of friendlies against Guinea and France.
With Bradley originally scheduled to return for Liverpool ahead of next season, Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill will hope to have his talisman available for the start of their Nations League campaign, which gets underway with a trip to Georgia on September 25.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot (R) with Conor Bradley. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Liverpool manager Arne Slot (R) with Conor Bradley. (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Bradley helped the Reds seal Premier League title glory last season and was attempting to nail down the right-back position in Slot’s side when he suffered a cruel setback.
The former Dungannon Swifts youngster had made 15 league appearances this term and also starred in the Champions League, producing an impressive display against Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Slot has revealed Bradley is working hard behind the scenes to make a return as soon as possible, but couldn’t put a timeline on when he will be back.
"In the rehab, it's always important if certain steps go well or they don't go well," said Slot. "It's really difficult in the stage where he is in now to predict when he will be back.
"He's still inside and working really hard to make the right steps but he is quite far away from going outside, that makes it quite complicated to tell how long it is going to take."
Liverpool will round out their Premier League campaign with fixtures against Aston Villa (Friday) and Brentford (May 24).