Conor Bradley sidelined: Arne Slot provides worrying update after Liverpool defender taken off on stretcher

Late in a dull, goalless draw, the defender went down near the touchline, clutching his knee. While he remained on the ground, Martinelli dropped the ball near Bradley and attempted to pull him off the bench to restart play.

Gary Neville condemned the incident as “absolutely disgraceful” and questioned why none of the Liverpool players reacted more strongly.

After the game, Arne Slot took a more measured view, describing Martinelli as a good character and suggesting frustration over time-wasting may have played a role.

“There’s so much simulation in football that players sometimes lose patience,” Slot explained. “I’m certain that if he’d realized the severity of the injury, he wouldn’t have acted like that. It doesn’t reflect well if Conor has indeed suffered the injury we fear.”

Bradley was eventually stretchered off and replaced by Joe Gomez, Liverpool’s only substitution of the match. Mikel Arteta also defended Martinelli, saying there was no malicious intent and that the winger likely didn’t grasp the seriousness of the situation.

“Anyone who knows Gabi knows he’s kind and genuine,” Arteta said. “He probably didn’t understand what had happened. I’ll talk to him, but it seems he was unaware of the situation at the time.”