As a result of what was initially believed to be a minor setback but turned out to be a stress fracture in his back that will take time to heal, Conor Bradley is out of commission.
Liverpool’s brilliant young defender made a good impression in the first preseason games, but he skipped the trip to Singapore and the rest of the campaign.
His injury was first deemed to be “minor,” but he was later forced to withdraw from international duty with Northern Ireland after learning that he had sustained a stress fracture in his back, which would prevent him from playing for at least two to three months.
The most frequent cause of a stress fracture is the repeated stress and weight on a bone.
Bone constantly degrades under stress and then rebuilds itself (a process known as “remodeling”); this process is how bone becomes stronger. ‘Wolff’s Law’ refers to this bone adaption to the stress exerted upon it.
However, when the balance between stress and rebuilding is off (for instance, by repetitive load), it can weaken the bone and cause a stress fracture as a result of overload.
O’Neill, the manager of Northern Ireland, agreed and said, “Those are injuries that sometimes occur in young players.”
Conor’s injury makes sense when seen in the overall context of last season, during which he participated in numerous games with a higher level of intensity. In fact, he played more minutes for club and nation than any other kid in world football last season (4,723).
The previously described overload may result from the repetition and cumulative rise in game volume and intensity.
In general, I anticipate Bradley to make a thorough recovery under the superb care of the Liverpool medical staff and to be comfortably re-installed when he is able to do so.
