Conor Bradley absence explained as Liverpool defender misses Chelsea clash

Conor Bradley has not been named amongst Liverpool's substitutes to face Chelsea due to injury.

It has been reported by the Liverpool Echo, Bradley is not fit enough to make the bench following the international break. The 21-year-old captained Northern Ireland recently during the break, playing 90 minutes in their Nations League matches against Belarus and Bulgaria.

However, the right-back has not been selected by Liverpool boss Arne Slot to feature amongst the Reds substitutes. Slot has made three changes to the side that beat Crystal Palace last time out.

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Caoimhin Kelleher replaces the injured Alisson in net, while Curtis Jones and Andy Robertson come in for Alexis Mac Allister and Kostas Tsimikas respectively. The Argentine international is named on the bench, with Jones coming into start alongside Ryan Gravenberch in midfield.

Dominik Szoboszlai starts ahead of the Gravenberch/Jones axis, with Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo named on the right and left wing. And Diogo Jota is preferred at striker to Darwin Nunez. On the opposite side, Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has handed a start to right-back Reece James, which will be the England internationals first appearance of the season.

Liverpool.com says: "It's interesting that Bradley has been deemed not fit enough to make the bench for Liverpool given he played 90 minutes twice for Northern Ireland during the international break. However, he did play two games and he might have picked up a knock prior to returning to Merseyside."