Liverpool have finally had a clear update on two long-term absentees, and the headline is straightforward. Conor Bradley is getting close to rejoining group work, while Hugo Ekitike is moving well through a slower recovery programme.
That matters. Bradley has been out since January, when he suffered a serious knee injury late in the 0-0 draw with Arsenal. The full medical detail has never been made public, but the key point was that ligament damage was avoided. That left room for optimism, even if the process has still taken months.
Conor Bradley closing in on group training
Andoni Iraola did not overcomplicate it. “They are both doing very well,” Iraola said. “I think they are in a good place. Conor is not so far from training with the group – not like full training but doing some things with the group.
“Hugo is a little bit behind that but that was always the plan. He is still doing very well according to the plan.”
That is the important distinction. Bradley is close to partial involvement with the squad. Full training is another step. Match fitness is another after that.
Photo IMAGO
Hugo Ekitike recovery remains on schedule
Ekitike’s situation was always more severe. He ruptured his Achilles tendon in April, an injury that routinely demands patience and caution. He has been splitting recovery work between Kirkby and the United States, where he has worked with a specialist. There is no drama here, just a long rehabilitation that appears to be unfolding as expected.
Iraola was not going to offer artificial deadlines, and that is sensible. “It’s difficult (to put a timescale on them both). When they have been injured for so long it’s difficult to say but I think Conor is not very far from starting doing things with us.”
Giovanni Leoni setback still leaves hope
There was also an update on Giovanni Leoni. The young defender, signed from Parma last summer, suffered an ACL injury on debut, brutal luck by any standard. The latest expectation is…
..
