Liverpool‘s season took a massive hit on Sunday. The club confirmed that right-back Conor Bradley is done for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign. He needs surgery on a knee injury he picked up against Arsenal on Thursday. It is a tough break for a player who has been so important for Arne Slot this year.
The 22-year-old went down late in that 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium. It looked bad right away when he landed near the touchline in stoppage time. ESPN reported that scans showed damage to the bone and ligaments in his left knee. It is not an ACL injury, which is a small relief, but the surgery still ends his season early.
Bradley has been the main man at right-back since Trent Alexander-Arnold moved to Real Madrid. He’s played 21 times this season and brought a lot of energy to that side of the pitch. Now Slot has to find a new plan while the team is in the middle of a title race.
The Martinelli Incident and the Angry Fallout
The injury caused a lot of drama on the pitch. Gabriel Martinelli tried to push Bradley off the field while he was down. He even threw the ball at him to try and speed things up. It started a big fight between both teams. Ibrahima Konate was furious and got a yellow card for his reaction. Martinelli got booked too.
Roy Keane was working for Sky Sports and he didn’t hold back. He hated what he saw from the Arsenal winger. He thought it showed a lack of respect for a fellow professional who was clearly hurt.
“That behaviour is an absolute disgrace. He’s a good boy to roll over himself. Hopefully, Martinelli will have a look at it and hopefully, he’ll apologise for it.”
Martinelli did say sorry after the game. He posted on social media that he didn’t know Bradley was hurt that bad. Mikel Arteta told reporters that his player apologised privately as well. But that doesn’t help Liverpool now that they’ve lost their starting right-back.
Liverpool Defensive Crisis Deepens for Arne Slot
The timing is terrible for the Reds. They already have a long list of injuries. Giovanni Leoni is out with an ACL. Midfielders Wataru Endo and Stefan Bajcetic are also missing. And Alexander Isak is out until April with an ankle problem. The squad is starting to look thin at the worst time.
Slot has to decide who steps in now. Joe Gomez is one choice. But he is only just back from a hamstring injury himself. Jeremie Frimpong is another option, though he’s been playing further forward lately. Slot has even used Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones as full-backs this season. It’s a mess at the back right now.
And things aren’t getting easier. Mo Salah is away at the Africa Cup of Nations. That means the attack is missing its best player while the defense is falling apart. It’s a lot of pressure on the fringe players to step up.
Huge Blow for Northern Ireland World Cup Hopes
This isn’t just a Liverpool problem. It’s a disaster for Northern Ireland. They have a massive World Cup play-off against Italy in March. Bradley is their best player and he’s going to miss the whole thing. He might even miss the World Cup in the summer if they manage to qualify without him.
The club hasn’t put a specific date on his return yet. Surgery is happening in the next few days. Most knee injuries like this take six to nine months to heal. We probably won’t see him back in a Liverpool shirt until the next pre-season starts. It’s a long road back for the youngster.
Liverpool play Barnsley in the FA Cup on Monday. Team news lists show Bradley as the biggest absence. Slot says he wants to win trophies this year, but he’s running out of fit players to do it. They have Burnley and Marseille coming up soon too. The next few weeks will show if this squad has enough depth to survive without Bradley.
Soureesh Datta 
Ishaan Singh