Conor Bradley admitted there was some rustiness in his performance as he made a first start for Liverpool in six weeks on Wednesday night - but he insists he is raring to go once again ahead of the weekend.

The Northern Irishman played 60 minutes in the Carabao Cup defeat against Tottenham Hotspur, his first start since sustaining a hamstring injury in the win over Real Madrid at the end of November.

Bradley returned to the team at the weekend and made a cameo appearance off the bench in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United. He impressed with a strong challenge on Alejandro Garnacho and had a similarly solid display at Spurs, albeit lacking Trent Alexander-Arnold’s usual creativity from right-back.

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With uncertainty surrounding the England international’s future - and the negative reaction to his performance against United - Bradley said he is ‘ready to go’ when called upon.

“I think there always is [some rustiness] when you've been out for a couple of weeks. I felt like I was just growing and growing into the game,” he told LFCTV after the Spurs game. “Obviously we're just managing my minutes, coming off at 60, and I'm ready to go again on Saturday.

"You've just always got to be ready for a chance. Whenever you're called upon, just be ready to come in and give your all for the team and just try to help the team win in any way you can. That's what I always try to do and just be ready.”

It was a frustrating night for Bradley and co in North London, with Lucas Bergvall’s controversial late winner ensuring it’s Spurs who hold the advantage in the semi-final ahead of the second leg in four weeks.

But Bradley said he is expecting a very different game back at Anfield. “Bring on the second leg,” the 21-year-old confidently declared. "Obviously Anfield is our home and we love playing there.

“Having the fans with us, we can't wait to get back there and it'll be a good second leg. We've overcome worse than a 1-0, so we're looking forward to it.”

On the performance at Spurs, he added: “I think out of possession we were good tonight, we defended well for most parts and we were aggressive in the press. But I think [being] better on the ball and obviously try to create more chances and things like that.”

Bradley, who came through Liverpool’s youth system and has already captained his country, made 12 appearances prior to his injury lay-off. With Accrington Stanley up next, there is every chance he will continue at right-back and afford Alexander-Arnold a minor rest in the midst of the busy calendar.