Liverpool are set to receive some welcome injury reinforcement for Saturday’s game against Leeds United, with Arne Slott confirming Conor Bradley is expected to be available for selection. Despite this, the Dutch manager also revealed that Joe Gomez is nursing a bruise after being sent off in the second half of the 1-1 stalemate against Sunderland.
Bradley has been sidelined since the November international break and has missed Liverpool’s last four games as a result. With Jeremy Frimpong also sidelined with a hamstring problem in October, the Reds lack a natural right-back replacement. Dominik Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones have both been used in this position in recent weeks, with Gomez returning to the starting XI for last weekend’s 2-0 win over West Ham United.
But Slott admitted Bradley’s return would strengthen his defensive options, despite having to replace Gomez just after the hour mark in midweek.
“Joe Gomez got a knock against West Ham but was still able to start,” he explained in the pre-match press conference. “He didn’t play the full 90 minutes, but I think he’ll be able to train again today.
“Yesterday was a recovery day for most of them. Today we will train again and see how they are. Connor Bradley has been training this week so we expect him to train today so he can join the team tomorrow.”
Liverpool manager Arne Slott has left Mohamed Salah on the bench for the club’s last two matches. The Egyptian star did not feature against West Ham and was only introduced at half-time against Sunderland.
Asked about Salah’s chances of returning to the starting lineup against Leeds, Slott was tight-lipped, but admitted his recent decisions have sparked interest.
“We have a lot of good players, so I think every player has it in mind to start,” he said. “And Mo was a very good player for us.
“It’s always in my mind whether he starts or plays. Yes, of course (I understand). Maybe he deserves it, because he has already had a huge influence on this club and me and his teammates for seven years.”
“It’s completely normal. If you don’t play with a player who’s new to the club, we’re already talking about it, so it’s completely normal for people not to talk about it when he’s not playing.”
Slott also touched on the use of Federico Chiesa, who has yet to start a Premier League or Champions League game this season, despite having made a huge impact off the bench, including recently scoring a crucial goal-line clearance in stoppage time.
“Like I said, every player has the potential to start, but we have a lot of options to start at his position,” Slott said. “He’s come off the bench a few times and certainly made an impact.
“Normally you bring in a striker to score goals, but in this situation he kept running at a moment when a player might have stopped and thought he was one-on-one and couldn’t do anything anymore. That says a lot about his mentality of not conceding goals.”
“That’s a good thing because it’s not just something that defenders should have, it’s something that attackers should have too.”
