Conor Bradley is expected to play for the Reds’ under-21 team tonight when they play Burnley in the Lancashire Senior Cup, according to the Liverpool Echo.

In preseason friendlies against Karlsruhe and Greuther Furth, the 20-year-old made an impression for Jurgen Klopp’s first squad. However, he was later ruled out of the upcoming trip to Singapore because of what was then described as a “minor injury.”

Although the Northern Ireland player would be out for four months due to a stress fracture in his back, it seems that his ordeal is finally ended.Bradley’s preseason performances indicated that he would be ready for a few challenging first-team games, therefore his injury occurred at the worst possible moment.

According to LiverpoolFC.com, Klopp praised the right-back earlier this year for having a “super mentality.” If he had been healthy, he would have probably played in the Carabao Cup and Europa League during the fall.

With the domestic quarterfinal matchup against West Ham taking place three days after pivotal league games against Manchester United and Arsenal, he may still be able to participate in both tournaments before Christmas. Additionally, if he makes progress in Europe this week, it may open the door for him to play against Union Saint-Gilloise the following month.

It should be possible to rest Trent Alexander-Arnold for a few games until Bradley is well enough to be considered for the starting lineup, which will also remove the requirement for Joe Gomez to play right back.

The Northern Ireland defender will need to play a few games for the under-21 team before he is well enough for Klopp to seriously bring him into action, but playing against Burnley in the middle of the week should be the first major step toward making a comeback for the senior team.