Liverpool dealt DOUBLE Merseyside derby injury blow

Liverpool had a Merseyside derby win at Goodison Park ripped away from them in February and they might be in a bit of trouble when Everton visit Anfield for the return fixture in a few weeks.

The fixture has long been a staple of the English footballing calendar and a true classic unfolded when the Reds took to Goodison Park for the last time, with Curtis Jones, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Arne Slot and Spike Hulshoff all shown red cards.

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For most of the game, the team battled hard and looked to come away from the heated contest with a precious three points to add to their Premier League title challenge, but a 98th-minute equaliser for James Tarkowski helped Everton 'win' the game.

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On that stressful night, fans across the country were glued to their TV screens, as they witnessed a return to 'prime Barclays', and so the reverse fixture at Anfield is set to receive just as much attention.

However, Liverpool will have different questions to answer entirely, with the players available set to vary significantly, alongside the context that the team needs just 16 points from the remaining 27 to secure the club's 20th first division league title.

Trent and Bradley set to remain out until mid-April

Conor Bradley came on against Aston Villa just a few weeks after the Merseyside Derby in February, however, he was only able to cover Trent Alexander-Arnold for 23 minutes, because he went off with an injury that has since kept him out.

It was his second injury of the season, with both suspected to be linked to his hamstring. Across the campaign, he has been unavailable for 16 games so far, which in turn put a bit more strain on Liverpool's first-choice right-back.

Trent managed to play five games without his understudy, with Jarrell Quansah covering his position occasionally to limit the minutes he would play without rest.

However, it was against Paris Saint Germain where things came unstuck, as Trent fell on his ankle, twisting his knee in the process - an incident that has since left Liverpool without a right-back at all.

Quansah covered in the EFL Cup final loss against Newcastle, and it seems as though he may be Arne Slot's only hope going into the game against Everton when the Reds return to action on Wednesday April 2nd.

According to Lewis Steele at the Daily Mail, "The right back [Trent] is hopeful that his injury will rule him out for a matter of weeks rather than months which would see him make a return at some point in mid-April."

If that prognosis is right, then we will likely see the England international back for either the fixture against West Ham at Anfield or the visit to Leicester, leaving around five games of the season to go.

Initial fears were that if Trent decides against renewing his contract that we might have already seen the last of him in a Liverpool shirt, so with this update there is at least some cause to be optimistic.

For Bradley, however, things have been a lot less clear, with his national team manager giving us the only real update of note.

The Northern Ireland coach, Michael O'Neill, spoke to the Belfast Telegraph and said: "He's frustrated, but his initial frustration has kind of subsided a little bit. His focus is on trying to get fit for the end of the season because there is so much to play for.

"Liverpool have the league run-in which every player will want to be involved in, so I think the focus is on getting himself fit, and Conor is very diligent on that side of things. He will do everything possible to get fit and follow Liverpool's guidance"

As such, while we might hope to see the Northern Irishman back at Anfield before the end of the campaign, it seems incredibly likely that the fixture against Everton in just under two weeks will be too much of an ask to seem him available for.

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So unless Slot is working up a stroke of genius to play someone different at right-back, it seems likely that Quansah will take up the role again, making it that bit more important that Ibrahima Konate stays fit as Virgil Van Dijk's centre-back partner, knowing that Joe Gomez is out for the season.

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