“Not if, but when” – A teammate believes Conor Bradley will become a regular for Liverpool.

Conor Bradley has been out with a long-term back injury this season, but Liverpool have been told that the youngster’s breakthrough is a matter of “not if, but when.”

The 20-year-old was expected to fill in at right-back for Trent Alexander-Arnold this season, and his early pre-season performances indicated that he could do so.

He has not played since the 4-4 friendly draw with Greuther Furth at the start of pre-season due to a stress fracture in his back.

Bradley has resumed first-team training, and while this season is a far cry from the previous one, when he played the most minutes of any teenager in the world, he has been tipped to become a Reds regular.

Dion Charles, a Northern Ireland and former Bolton teammate, has worked closely with Bradley and believes the 20-year-old will succeed at Anfield based on what he’s seen on and off the field.

“Conor is incredible. He can go as far as he wants,” Charles told the Belfast Telegraph. “That kid has everything, he’s intelligent, such a good player.

“The biggest thing about his mentality is he wants to learn, he wants to get better, so when he’s back fit, it will be interesting to see not if, but when, he gets in the Liverpool team.”

Alexander-Arnold will be difficult to replace, but Bradley’s personality will allow him to embrace the challenge and the opportunity to learn from the best in the position.

“The type of character Conor is, he’ll be with him [Alexander-Arnold] every single day, brushing shoulders with them, so it’ll only make him better for the future,” Charles added.

“When Conor first arrived in Bolton, he hadn’t played much senior football, and he played like he was 30.” Conor is incredible. He plays like an experienced player.”

Bradley has gradually returned to first-team training, and the hope is that he will be in contention for selection before the end of the season, with two Europa League games and a League Cup quarter-final to come.

The 20-year-old, who has only played five times for Liverpool in his career, appeared in 53 games for Bolton last season, clocking up 4,723 minutes.