Connor Bradley: How could the Liverpool defender’s injury impact Northern Ireland? Then Ireland miss Bradley?

A home World Cup qualifier against Germany in October could give a good indication of how Northern Ireland might fare against a leading nation without Bradley in their squad.

After starring in the victory over Slovakia in the previous match, he received a yellow card that kept him out of the Germany match due to suspension.

On that occasion, it was Spencer who was tasked with filling in at right-back while Hume retained his place at the heart of the back three.

The opposition’s lead certainly played a part too, but Northern Ireland were certainly less dynamic than they were against Slovakia, lacking the drive Bradley provided going forward.

Digging into the numbers, Spencer did well against the Liverpool player. Bradley won four fouls against Slovakia, while Spencer won two against Germany.

These stats are flipped when fouls are made, with Spencer making 24 passes with a success rate of 67.7%, while Bradley had a success rate of 52.9% from 39 attempts against the Slovaks.

In the BBC Sport Player Ratings, where BBC Sport readers can have their say on the game, Bradley was rated highest with 8.90 against Slovakia while Spencer had 6.68 against Germany – while Ballard was the highest with 7.79.

Although away from home, Northern Ireland will be hoping for a similar level of performance to the Germany match, but with a different result.