Conor Bradley has been left out of the Liverpool team to face Arsenal on Sunday as the defender mourns the death of his dad. A dream week for the Northern Irishman ended in tragedy following the death of his father, Joe, on Saturday.
Joe died aged 58 after a long-term illness. Liverpool revealed the news on Saturday afternoon, with a statement reading: “Liverpool FC is deeply saddened by the death of Conor Bradley’s father, Joe, today.
“The thoughts of everybody at the club are with Conor and all of the Bradley family ahis very difficult and sad time. On behalf of Conor, LFC strongly urges that the family’s privacy is fully respected at this time.”
Bradley shone in only his second Premier League start for Liverpool on Wednesday, scoring once and providing two assists in the Reds’ 4-1 victory over Chelsea. The 20-year-old raced forwards before driving an unstoppable effort beyond Djordje Petrovic to put his side 2-0 up in the first half.
However, Bradley has been excluded from Liverpool’s squad entirely for their crunch Premier League trip to Arsenal. The right-back continues to mourn the death of his father and has been left out of the team, with Klopp revealing that the academy graduate has been sent home to be with his family.
“For all of us, our job is to support him. The best thing for him is to be with his family, which is where we sent him immediately. It’s very sad news,” the German told Sky Sports ahead of kick-off.
I told him take your time, as much as you need, that’s clear, and then we will see what the next days bring. But he is where he has to be now, with his family.”
Klopp had been delighted with Bradley’s performance against Chelsea and hailed him as a ‘wonderful kid’.
He said after the game against Chelsea: “What a wonderful kid he is. Outstanding finish, the whole game, the contribution, the involvement. It’s a job to play against [Raheem] Sterling, that’s not easy. I’m really happy for him. He’s a very serious young man and that was pretty special I have to say.
