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Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has provided a brief Conor Bradley injury update this international break.

Conor Bradley has now been sidelined for almost a month since sustaining a muscle injury during Liverpool’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa on February 19.

The 21-year-old Northern Ireland international has missed Liverpool’s last six consecutive matches after suffering a hamstring injury during the Aston Villa clash last month.

The incident occurred when Bradley, who had entered the match as a substitute, pulled up during a sprint in the 89th minute.

Despite attempting to continue, he was ultimately forced to signal to the bench that he could no longer play.

Arne Slot’s initial assessment after the match was not promising and after suggested that it would be a ‘few weeks’.

Well, we are now a ‘few weeks’ later and there still has not been any update from the club on the matter.

The right-back’s recovery timeline appears to be longer than initially hoped.

He has been officially omitted from Northern Ireland’s upcoming international friendlies against Switzerland and Sweden scheduled for March 21 and 25, respectively.

With these matches still several days away, this suggests Bradley’s rehabilitation will extend at least until the end of March, marking more than five weeks on the sidelines from the original injury date.

The injury crisis reached its peak ahead of the Carabao Cup final against Newcastle, with both specialized right-backs unavailable after Trent Alexander-Arnold injury against PSG.

This forced Liverpool to deploy center-back Jarell Quansah as a makeshift right-back—a less than ideal solution for such a crucial fixture.

But Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill has suggested that Bradley is still aiming for a return before the end of the season:

“He’s frustrated, but his initial frustration has kind of subsided a little bit,” Neill said as quoted by Belfast Telegraph.

“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.”

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Bradley has faced an extended spell on the sidelines in his young career.

Besides a back injury last season, Bradley sustained a hamstring injury during Liverpool’s Champions League victory over Real Madrid in December.

That setback reportedly kept him out for approximately six weeks during a crucial festive period for the club.

The Northern Ireland boss has admitted that he’s spoken to Bradley about the injury problems:

“We have talked about this that possibly he maybe needs to learn how to manage himself a little bit through the games at times.”

“If you look at the game against Real Madrid, I think the injury came in the last 10 minutes, and that cost him because, obviously, his performance was fantastic that night and he doesn’t get the opportunity to back it up as he is out injured for the next game.”

“And then he is put into a game (away to Aston Villa)?
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