Liverpool have had plenty of trouble sourcing a long-term replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The 27-year-old departed his boyhood club in 2025 for Real Madrid - leaving Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley to battle it out as his successor.
Frimpong has proven ill-suited to playing right-back and in any case was frequently injured throughout his first season at Anfield after arriving from Bayer Leverkusen for around £30m.
Bradley was given a new contract but sadly suffered a very bad injury last January which continues to rule him out.
Conor Bradley injured since January
The Northern Ireland international damaged his knee in a Premier League game against Arsenal - with Liverpool at great pains not to put a timeline on his recovery.
Initial estimates suggesting he would be back in September proved well wide of the mark. And now an update in the Liverpool Echo claims that the 23-year-old may well return in January.
“Roughly estimating, Bradley has been out since January so unfortunately, his recovery phase might still require more time,” the report reads.
“He is in the Champions League squad at least, meaning Liverpool believe he has a shot of playing some part before January.”
Report states Bradley could be back in January
In the meantime Liverpool have had to use midfielders at right-back - while also relying on the likes of Joe Gomez and Ronald Araujo.
No specialist was signed over the summer - with Araujo a natural centre-back - meaning Liverpool still have a gap to fill in the position.
Maybe January will finally herald the comeback for Bradley - who by that stage will have spent a full year out of commission.
It will soon be time for Bradley to get back on track
“It's unclear if there was any setback along the way but it doesn't appear as though Bradley is nearing an imminent return with Andoni Iraola always keen to stress that the right-back remains a long-term absentee whenever asked,” the report reads.
Bradley has been a Liverpool first-team player since 2021 - going on to play 78 times for the first team. He looked like Alexander-Arnold’s successor-in-waiting earlier his career but has sadly endured some considerable injury trouble in the last few seasons.
Andoni Iraola will be hoping to benefit from Bradley’s return in the new year and ensure he can get his very promising career back on track.