The post-surgery message from Conor Bradley, as he broke his silence after suffering a season-ending knee injury, was as front-footed and defiant as his playing style. "The comeback starts now," said the Liverpool right-back as he addressed his 1.2m Instagram followers on Wednesday morning.

No timescale is being placed internally on when Bradley will be able to make that comeback and while he will no doubt be itching to get back playing for club and country, which was a sentiment he himself aired once the anesthetic had worn off, there will be no pressure on the Northern Ireland international to bounce back quickly.

Anfield insiders have stressed the injury suffered in the goalless draw with Arsenal last week is not anterior cruciate ligament damage but there is no sense that the defender has managed to 'get lucky' with the setback that left him crumpled in a heap on the Emirates turf. The worst was feared when he exited the stadium on crutches and that was confirmed after further assessment on Friday.