Diogo Jota picked up a new injury for Liverpool in the win over Chelsea, but the Portuguese star isn’t the only concern, according to a fresh update from journalist James Pearce.
Jota injured in Liverpool win
The Reds knew that only a win over Chelsea on Sunday would see them return to the top of the Premier League table, and they edged out their opponents in a frenetic clash at Anfield.
Goals from Mohamed Salah and Curtis Jones sealed a 2-1 victory for Arne Slot’s side, who have now won eight of their nine league games this season. Their only slip-up came at home to Nottingham Forest last month, as belief grows that a title challenge is on the cards in 2024/25.
The one negative to emerge for Liverpool against Chelsea was a first-half injury to Jota, however, with the Portuguese forced to leave the field with what appeared to be rib damage, being replaced by Darwin Nunez.
Given the striker’s injury-prone nature, it was concerning to see him head down the tunnel, and Reds supporters will be praying that one of their most influential attacking players isn’t missing for a significant period of time, especially with Alisson already a high-profile absentee.
"Really special" Liverpool ace could miss Leipzig
According to a new update from Pearce on X, Conor Bradley missed Liverpool’s win over Chelsea with a new injury picked up with Northern Ireland, suggesting he could also be out for the Leipzig game, given the quickfire turnaround in fixtures.
“Arne Slot expects Diogo Jota to miss Champions League trip to Leipzig. Conor Bradley was absent today after picking up a knock on international duty.”
While Bradley isn’t as influential as Jota, or other injury victims like Alisson and Harvey Elliott for that matter, it is still worrying that he is carrying an issue, ahead of a relentless run of fixtures for Liverpool, with midweek games constant in the coming weeks.
The Northern Irishman is such a great understudy to Trent Alexander-Arnold, bursting onto the scene last season and genuinely feeling like a great squad player, with his international manager, Michael O’Neill, saying of him earlier this year: “We’ve got a really special young player who can only continue that way.
“His attitude to the game is maybe his biggest attribute, he just loves to play. He trains that like that, he always trains at his maximum and I think at times the other younger players feed off that.”
Admittedly, Joe Gomez is also a good option at right-back, with the Englishman coming on and doing a solid job in the latter stages against Chelsea on Sunday, but he doesn’t possess the attack-minded brilliance of Bradley, who outlined his class last season with a superb strike against the Blues.
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Not only that, but Alexander-Arnold will need a rest at some point, rather than being overplayed and risking picking up an injury as the season goes on, so the hope is that the £10,000-a-week Bradley’s injury is only minor, meaning he will be available this week.