Arne Slot admits he took a ‘risk’ with Liverpool star Conor Bradley through the 2-2 draw at Aston Villa within the Premier League on Wednesday night.
The Northern Irishman got here on within the 66th minute to interchange Trent Alexander-Arnold but was forced off with injury within the closing stages.
Liverpool boss Slot has confirmed Bradley is now expected to miss not less than the following two games against Manchester City and Newcastle United.
It marks the newest setback for the 21-year-old right-back – who missed a lot of games in December with a hamstring problem – and was also absent near the beginning of the season with a distinct issue.
Chatting with TNT Sports after the sport at Villa Park, with Liverpool missing the prospect to go 10 points clear of second-placed Arsenal within the Premier League title race, Slot said: ‘[Diogo Jota] could only play 60 today, same as Trent, and that’s the reason we needed to make those substitutions.
‘I’d love to maintain them within the team but we have now to play Sunday and Wednesday again and also you saw with Conor Bradley how much of a risk it’s. But Jota and Trent played good games.’
In his post-match press conference, Slot added: ‘It’s difficult [to say about Bradley’s injury] but he felt [it] a bit when he made a sprint. He tried to proceed but needed to exit.
‘On a regular basis with injuries, I all the time say if a player desires to exit himself, that’s not a promising sign.
‘It’s going to probably result in the actual fact he might be 99.9 per cent not available for [Manchester] City and I don’t expect him against Newcastle as well.
‘Then we have now to see if it’s one or two weeks or if it’s going to be even longer.’
Mohamed Salah fired Liverpool ahead against Villa however the home side took the lead because of goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins.
Unai Emery’s team were unable to secure three points, though, as Alexander-Arnold levelled things up five minutes before coming off.
The result means Liverpool now have a eight-point lead over Arsenal – but they’ve played an additional game – handing the Gunners the chance to shut the gap to 5 points.
Slot admits that he was left ‘not so blissful’ after dropping points within the top-flight title race.
‘Not so blissful, to be honest,’ the Dutchman added in his TNT Sports interview. ‘We created much more probabilities than them and created probabilities to win. But we also conceded from a set piece.
‘In the event you are 1-0 down it is way from easy. Their second likelihood was a goal, was a cross, but they could have won it in the ultimate moments but while you put all the probabilities together, I’m not blissful with the 2-2.
‘They lost a excellent striker but brought in two latest ones within the winter break. It’s a difficult one due to team they’ve the support they’ve from the fans. We were near playing a really, excellent game.
‘The pressure is all the time on you should you are Liverpool. It matters where we’re within the league table however the pressure is all the time on should you are Liverpool.’
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