Liverpool dealt huge injury blow as Conor Bradley discovers full extent of knee injury

No timescale has been put on his recovery by those at Anfield, but The Athletic claims that an untimely injury will be “season-ending”. Bradley looked close to tears when being helped off in north London, with his shirt pulled up over his face when being carried back to the dressing room.

Scan results have eased fears regarding anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) damage, but Bradley has been left with “significant damage to both the bone and the ligaments in his left knee”. He will now be sent for surgery.

The Reds said in a statement on the club’s official website: “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.”

While Bradley is expected to miss the remainder of the domestic season, he has not seen his 2026 World Cup dreams dashed just yet. Northern Ireland are hoping to secure qualification for that event through the play-offs in March.

His absence does, however, represent another serious blow to Arne Slot’s plans. Liverpool’s manager admitted that he “feared the worst” after seeing another young defender limp away from the Emirates in a knee brace. He has already lost centre-half Giovanni Leoni to an ACL injury. Meanwhile, £125 million ($168m) striker Alexander Isak is currently nursing a broken leg.

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Bradley’s unfortunate injury sparked controversy against Arsenal. He went down after seeing his knee twist and buckle when clearing into the crowd. Gunners winger Gabriel Martinelli went on to drop the ball on him before trying to drag the Castelderg native from the pitch.

Brazil international Martinelli later apologised for his actions, saying on social media: “Conor and I have messaged and I’ve already apologised to him. 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.”

Liverpool stars were quick to defend their team-mate, with Ibrahima Konate picking up a yellow card. Reds captain Virgil van Dijk said of an unsightly scuffle: “Everyone was unhappy at that moment. It wasn’t a couple of players, but everyone, and rightly so because Conor was on the pitch and to be pushing him off the pitch is not really a good sight.

“It is pretty obvious for you guys to analyse it from clips. For us, it goes pretty quickly. The long ball came, Conor is challenging for it, falls down on the pitch and obviously Martinelli pushes him off the pitch and our players reacted. We all came together. And we had no clue what really happened, but it doesn’t look great and it doesn’t look great on Martinelli either. We are focusing on Conor now.”

Bradley played his part in Liverpool keeping a clean sheet against the Gunners. While they fired in no shots on target against the Premier League leaders, the reigning champions of England more than held their own at the Emirates and are now 10 games unbeaten across all competitions - dating back to a 4-1 Champions League defeat to PSV on November 26.

Slot will be without Bradley for the foreseeable future, meaning that the likes of Jeremie Frimpong, Joe Gomez and Calvin Ramsay will compete for a starting berth at right-back. Their first opportunity to impress will come in an FA Cup third-round clash with League One side Barnsley on Monday.