Arne Slot CONFIRMS extent of Bradley and Konate injury DAMAGE

Life at Liverpool has been one perfect dream for Arne Slot, at least on the surface. His side are top of the Premier League and Champions League and are the best team in Europe on current form.

And they've been doing it while managing a number of injuries to key players.

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Caoimhin Kelleher has hand to stand in for Alisson and has performed admirably. Harvey Elliott has missed most of the season and we're yet to see much of Federico Chiesa at all.

It's in defence where the worst injuries have occurred.

Conor Bradley stepped up to play against Real Madrid due to a Trent Alexander-Arnold injury and ended up going off himself, while Ibrahima Konate was spotted in crutches at Anfield today after feeling pain in his knee after the Madrid game.

Kostas Tsimikas was also pictured in crutches at Anfield, meaning Jarrell Quansah - at 21 - was the only senior defensive option available on the bench against Manchester City.

It means Liverpool go into a busy December period with no natural backup to either Andy Roberston at left-back or Trent at right-back. Joe Gomez would usually be the next best option in either of those positions, but he replaced Konate against Man City.

Slot will be hoping some of those injured players can recover sooner rather than later, and provided an update on the extent of their injuries after the game.

Slot on Bradley and Konate injuries

Given reports before the game said that Bradley would miss the entirety of December, it's not surprising that Slot has come out and confirmed his absence.

The boss was speaking to the media after the game and said that both he and Konate would be out "for a few weeks".

Given Slot's reluctance to risk injured players, and Konate's tendency to pick up knocks, it would be very surprising to see him in a Liverpool shirt again this year.

These injuries ramp up the pressure on Slot's defence, which has been imperious so far this season and by far the best in the Premier League.

It also provides a massive opportunity for some of Liverpool's youngsters, like 18-year-old centre back Amara Nallo, to step up and stake a claim for a place in the first team squad as cover options.

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