Jurgen Klopp suffers major injury blow with Liverpool star ruled out for title run-in

Conor Bradley is set to spend the next three weeks on the sidelines after suffering an ankle injury in Liverpool’s defeat to Crystal Palace.

Bradley started at right-back for the Reds at Anfield on Sunday but was forced off just three minutes into the second-half. The defender limped off the pitch to be replaced by Trent Alexander-Arnold, for his first appearance in the top-flight since 10 February.

He had been attempting to make a tackle when he suffered the issue. Boss Jurgen Klopp lamented his injury after the game, with Bradley’s spell on the sidelines the latest headache for the German.

“How it is on these days, something like that happens as well. Conor overstretched his foot slightly. The first moment and what Conor felt didn’t look great, [but] now I heard a little bit that it’s settled quite quickly,” he said after the game.

“I don’t know. Is the ligament damaged or not? I don’t know, so we will get this information tomorrow or Tuesday, but it was very painful for him so that’s not cool.”

Bradley was sent for a further assessment by the Reds after the defeat, with The Athletic reporting he is expected to miss the rest of April. They are said to have hope that he could return for the final weeks of the season.

But he looks certain to miss the Europa League quarter-final second leg against Atalanta on Thursday, the trip to Fulham on Sunday, the Merseyside Derby with Everton next Wednesday and the clash with West Ham on 27 April.

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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – APRIL 14: Conor Bradley of Liverpool goes down injured with team mate Dominik Szoboszlai during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Crystal Palace at Anfield on April 14, 2024 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)

Liverpool will hope the youngster is able to return for the final three weeks of the season when they face Spurs, Aston Villa and Wolves. Liverpool saw their title hopes suffer a major dent with the defeat to Palace, which leaves them two points adrift of leaders Manchester City.

Bradley has emerged as a key player this season, making 22 appearances in all competitions and helping the Reds to win the Carabao Cup. Klopp has faced comments that his side is running out of steam heading into the run-in, with the German admitting it is an issue.

“I understand as well, I see the same game like you do. I think for the situation Trent is in, that was really good but I don’t think he could now play 120 minutes, let me say it like that. A couple of players had to play a lot and a couple of players always were interrupted,” he said.

“It’s actually not too interesting for us if we find now the real answer. We just have to make sure that we don’t think about where we are coming from – whether they are injured or whether they are not.

“We just have to make sure we find a way to beat the specific opponent in front of us. It’s always like this. The solution is always being really together on the pitch for us. It doesn’t feel great anyway because we lost the game and we planned this day completely differently.”

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