Injury blow for Liverpool as Bradley hobbles off in Palace loss

In a fresh injury setback for Liverpool, right-back Conor Bradley was forced off the pitch after just 48 minutes of the side's 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

With his side already trailling after the Eagles took a surprise lead in the 14th minute when Eberechi Eze swept home Tyrick Mitchell's low cross, the 20-year-old limped off the pitch with an ankle injury.

The Northern Irishman's departure three minutes after the restart forced Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp to make a swift substitution, bringing on Trent Alexander-Arnold in his place.

"Settled quite quickly"

Speaking in his post-match press conference, Klopp explained the injury, saying: "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.

"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."

Trent back earlier than expected

Bradley's withdrawal marked Trent Alexander-Arnold's return to action after recovering from an injury of his own.

Clearly, Klopp would have preferred to ease his vice-captain back into first-team action following his knee injury, but with the Reds potentially losing ground in the title race, the German opted to bring on the 25-year-old, leaving Joe Gomez on the bench.

Alexander-Arnold immediately slotted into a hybrid central midfield role alongside Alexis Mac Allister after Wataru Endo was withdrawn at half time.

However, despite the boost offered by his passing range and creativity, the Reds were unable to turn the game around.

The defeat left Liverpool third in the Premier League table, two points behind leaders Manchester City.