Conor Bradley: Liverpool full-back ruled out for the rest of the season as club confirms ‘significant’ injury requires surgery following Arsenal draw

Bradley left the Emirates Stadium on crutches after being carried off on a stretcher in stoppage-time at the Emirates Stadium.

The Northern Ireland international had been at the centre of unsavoury scenes towards the end of the goalless draw against Mikel Arteta’s title-chasing Gunners, with Martinelli later apologising to Bradley for not acknowledging the severity of his injury.

Liverpool have now released a statement, detailing the requirement for the 22-year-old to undergo surgery which rules him out for the rest of the current campaign, including Northern Ireland’s crucial World Cup play-off against Italy at Stadio di Bergamo on March 26.

“Liverpool FC can confirm Conor Bradley has sustained a significant knee injury. The right-back suffered the issue in the latter stages of Thursday night’s Premier League fixture away at Arsenal.

“Bradley will undergo surgery in the coming days and then begin a period of rehabilitation at the AXA Training Centre. No timeframe is being placed on his return to playing at this stage of the process.”

This season, Slot has been forced to play midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai at right-back on occasion, with both Bradley and Jeremie Frimpong sidelined through injury.

Frimpong has returned from his own spell out following a hamstring setback to play in a more advanced role in the absence of Mohamed Salah, who is still away on Africa Cup of Nations duty.

Salah has reached the AFCON semi-finals with Egypt, meaning Slot will have to once more come up with a new solution for the time-being as Liverpool begin their quest for further FA Cup honours.

Bradley is now a serious doubt for next summer’s World Cup finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico, should Northern Ireland secure qualification.

Gabriel Martinelli sparked a fracas after pushing Conor Bradley

Image credit: Getty Images

His extended spell on the sidelines has intensified scrutiny of Martinelli, whose conduct following Bradley’s nasty fall drew widespread criticism. The Brazilian forward was seen dropping the ball onto his stricken opponent before shoving him from behind in an apparent attempt to clear the pitch and allow play to resume.

The incident ignited a confrontation between the two teams, resulting in yellow cards for both Martinelli and Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate for their roles in the ensuing melee.

Taking to social media, the Arsenal forward wished to make clear he never intended to aggravate Bradley’s injury, while Arteta came to his player’s defence, insisting the winger was unaware of the seriousness of the injury at the time.

“Conor and I have messaged and I’ve already apologized to him,” Martinelli announced in an Instagram story. “I really didn’t understand he was seriously injured in the heat of the moment.

“I want to say I’m deeply sorry for reacting. Sending Conor all my best again for a quick recovery.”

Bradley has established himself as Liverpool’s first-choice right-back, starting 12 of the club’s Premier League fixtures this season.

Speaking after the match to Sky Sports, Slot said: “I fear the worst for Conor Bradley.

“I think if a player of us is on the floor, people might know by now 100 out of 100 times there’s something wrong with the player. You don’t like to see a player being moved if he might have an injury.”