Liverpool defender expected to remainder of country's games this year after surgery
· Yahoo Sports
Northern Ireland are bracing themselves for an extended absence from Conor Bradley, with the Liverpool defender continuing his lengthy road to recovery.
Bradley has been sidelined since sustaining a serious knee injury at Arsenal in early January, requiring surgery to address significant bone and ligament damage.
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The right-back was photographed this summer working out at the AXA Training Centre as part of an individual rehabilitation program and was among the injured players included in the preseason tour to the United States.
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Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola suggested on Thursday morning that Bradley remains some distance from rejoining full team training, as per the Liverpool Echo.
Northern Ireland head coach Michael O'Neill has accepted that his captain will be unavailable for both the upcoming extended international break later this month and his country's November fixtures.
"Conor is where I expected him to be," said O'Neill. "I knew the injury was going to take longer than maybe some people were thinking.
"He's making good progress. It has to be managed very, very carefully, an injury of that nature. He's just become a dad as well so he's got other things to worry about as well, so congratulations to him.
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"But Conor will be with us when he is ready and fit, and we'll be delighted to have him back."
When asked whether Bradley could remain unavailable for Northern Ireland for the remainder of the year, O'Neill responded: "I think I'm comfortable with that.
"If we see him this side of Christmas, it will be a real bonus but if not then we look forward to March (international games)."