Conor Bradley was dragged off on a stretcher late in Liverpool’s goalless draw with Arsenal, before Gabriel Martinelli tried to remove him, sparking a huge clash.
Conor Bradley left Arsenal on crutches after injuring his knee in a supporter with Arne Slott, fearing he had suffered a serious injury. The Liverpool defender suffered a serious knee injury late in the stalemate with Arsenal.
Bradley was also at the center of a close encounter with Arsenal substitute Gabriel Martinelli, who threw the ball at him despite the Liverpool full-back being on the ground.
Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane called it a “disgrace” as Bradley was clearly injured before his flare-up and was another major injury concern for Liverpool manager Arn Slott.
Bradley then had to be helped out of the stadium by Liverpool staff, on crutches, wearing a special knee brace and clearly in pain.
read more: Gary Neville slams Arsenal star as ‘stupid’ for sparking Liverpool clashread more: Arsenal miss a golden opportunity in crushing defeat against Liverpool – 6 talking points
Slott admitted immediately after the game that he was “hoping for the best but fearing the worst” regarding any news regarding Bradley’s injury.
Regarding the flashpoint with Martinelli, he said, “If we had a player on the floor, people would already know something was wrong with that player. You don’t want to see a player move when he might have an injury that big. I didn’t like to see one of our players move when he had an injury this big, but we don’t know yet.”
Mikel Arteta fiercely defended his player, saying: “He probably doesn’t know. Knowing Gabi, there’s zero intent. I don’t know what happened to Conor, but I hope it’s not bad, but clearly Gabi doesn’t intend anything bad to happen to him.”
However, former Manchester United player Keane and Gary Neville saw the incident in very different ways, with the latter branding the Brazilian an “idiot” during commentary.
He said: “I’m surprised one of the Liverpool players didn’t walk away and give him a proper punch. I think an apology is due.”
“I’m angry at Martinelli. I don’t know how a Liverpool player could have hit him and not gotten a red card. It’s absolutely disgraceful.”
After the final whistle, Keane said: “I didn’t like it at all, it happened once before.
“It’s not good. First of all, I threw him the ball and I stood over him. He’s on his knees a little bit and he’s trying to force himself off. I think that’s absolutely disgraceful.”
“I’m surprised the Liverpool players didn’t go after him a little more. He’s a good kid to roll around on. It wasn’t a good scene, but hopefully he sees it and apologizes.”
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive Mirror Football content every day. Community members also receive special offers, promotions, and advertisements from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check it out whenever you like. If you are interested, please read our privacy notice.
