Connor Bradley: Injured Liverpool defender can still impact Northern Ireland in play-off – Stephen Kerrigan

Kerrigan added that losing a player of Bradley’s caliber is a “huge loss”, but Northern Ireland is still capable of surprising Italy, which is seeking to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2014.

Goalkeeper Pierce Charles is also a doubt due to a shoulder injury sustained at Sheffield Wednesday, and O’Neill will hope none of his key players are injured ahead of the game.

“We can definitely do it. We will have to reach a level of performance that we have not reached for a long time.

“Slovakia match [a 2-0 win in October] “It was very close, and we hope we can repeat large parts of that performance.”

Sunderland’s Trae Hume, all-rounder Brodie Spencer, Portsmouth’s Terry Devlin and Swansea City midfielder Ethan Galbraith are all candidates to replace Bradley at right-back in Bergamo.

Kerrigan added that the positive is that the injury occurred outside of the playoffs, so O’Neill has time to rethink his strategy.

“It didn’t happen right before the game, so he had some time to think about a strategy or game plan to fill that void that Conor leaves tactically.

“We have a bit of coverage in that area of ​​the pitch, but do they offer the same qualities as Conor?

“No, unfortunately they don’t, but when you’re a country with a small group of players, sometimes you have to make things work.

“If we can get all our key players back fit, except Conor unfortunately, we can go to Italy and cause a big upset.”