Conor Bradley had to be assisted off the pitch on Sunday with an ankle injury, and he is set for three weeks on the sidelines – meaning his season is not over prematurely.
The 20-year-old was forced from the field only moments after the second-half restart, hurting himself in a tackle which added further misery to Liverpool’s afternoon.
Klopp revealed that Bradley’s ankle issue appeared to have “settled quickly” in the immediate aftermath, having initially not looked too promising.
And now Sky Sports report the defender will be out for “up to three weeks” after undergoing scans on his ankle which showed the issue was not as bad as first feared.
With the season rapidly moving closer to the final curtain, a return in three weeks is around the time Tottenham visit Anfield on May 5.
At that point, there will only be a further two league games remaining in the campaign (Aston Villa and Wolves), and a significant turnaround at Atalanta would need to occur to add more to the schedule.
It is an unfortunate blow for Bradley, who now joins Joel Matip (ACL), Thiago (hamstring) and Ben Doak (MCL) on the absentee list.
Thankfully, his injury comes at a time when Klopp has been welcoming a number of key players back into his squad, inclusive of Trent Alexander-Arnold who would have played more than intended against Palace.
The desire will have been to ease the vice-captain back in, and an important decision needs to be made at Atalanta as to whether Alexander-Arnold starts or Joe Gomez.
Bradley has featured 22 times in his breakout season to date, scoring once and supplying six assists.
We expect to hear more from Klopp when he fronts the media in Itlay on Wednesday evening.
Fan Comments