Arne Slot shares Jeremie Frimpong plan after Liverpool suffers 'enormous blow'

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has described Conor Bradley's season-ending knee injury as an enormous blow and confirmed Jeremie Frimpong's minutes will now be managed more carefully

Liverpool boss Arne Slot(Image: PA)

Arne Slot has acknowledged that Conor Bradley's season-ending injury represents an "enormous blow" for Liverpool and confirmed that Jeremie Frimpong's playing time will now be monitored more carefully.

Bradley sustained the injury in the dying moments of last week's goalless draw at Arsenal and has since been diagnosed with a serious knee problem that has ended his season prematurely.

The Northern Ireland international is scheduled for surgery in the coming days and will not feature again for Slot's Reds this term.

Following Monday night's 4-1 FA Cup victory over Barnsley at Anfield, Slot explained how Frimpong - who has himself endured consecutive hamstring injuries in August and October - will be managed carefully to prevent midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai being regularly deployed out of position.

"First of all, let's talk about him because Trent Alexander-Arnold is leaving and Conor Bradley already replaced him a few times last season really well, and the year before I came he also had a good spell," Slot said.

"He felt and I felt the same, this is going to be your time and he missed so many games already because of mainly hamstring issues and coming back from that and being in a team, progressing, getting better and better, staying fit and then something like this happens.

"In a season before it started where he thought: 'This has to be my season' - and I thought the same - to maybe play six, seven or eight games is a big blow for him and I also think about Northern Ireland trying to reach the World Cup.

Conor Bradley is set to miss the rest of the season for Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)

"So it is an enormous blow for him but as a result of that it is a big blow for us as well, because I hope you don't think I would like to play Dominik Szoboszlai as a right full-back."

Slot added: "Jeremie Frimpong, he has to play a lot of minutes and has just come back from injury having missed three or four months and not a lot of playing time. I liked him as well today by the way.

"But I have to make sure he can play at the weekend and then we go to Marseille and then we go to Bournemouth.

"It is nine games in January with six defenders available, so I have to manage him the right way and I have to give enormous compliments to the players that are fit that we are 11 games unbeaten."

Liverpool, who will now face Brighton in the fourth round, return to Premier League action when they welcome Burnley on Saturday afternoon.