Now, the aspect face the prospect of taking over the group favourites with out their greatest participant.

Bradley, who has additionally been booked thrice in 5 Premier League appearances this time period, was proven his second yellow card of the qualifying marketing campaign within the 76th minute for a sort out on Lukas Haraslin.

O’Neill described the choice as “extraordinarily disappointing” and felt his participant had tried to drag out of the problem.

“There have been worse tackles within the recreation and one simply earlier than that was significantly poor on Isaac Worth that the referee let go,” he mentioned. “To supply a yellow card for that was disappointing.”

Talking on BBC Sport NI, former Northern Eire and Leeds United defender Stuart Dallas mentioned Bradley had given “the referee a choice to make” however agreed together with his previous worldwide boss that the choice finally was harsh.

If not for the ensuing suspension, it could have been a mere footnote in an in any other case glorious efficiency.

Bradley was one among 4 gamers within the beginning XI who went into the sport figuring out a reserving would rule them out of Monday’s recreation, however Hume mentioned they don’t want to curb his aggressive edge.

“We spoke earlier than the sport in regards to the boys who had been on yellows making an attempt to not get one, but it surely’s a type of issues,” he defined.

“You may’t go right into a recreation making an attempt to not get booked. You have to play to your strengths.

“He is full throttle. He is 100% on a regular basis.”

Since making his full Premier League debut in January 2024, Bradley has began 15 of his nation’s 17 video games, lacking solely the friendlies in opposition to Sweden and Switzerland in March.

Fairly learn how to compensate for his loss provides O’Neill yet one more factor to contemplate as he plots learn how to pull off what could be the largest results of his second spell in cost.

Whereas there isn’t a like-for-like alternative within the squad, Oxford United’s Brodie Spencer figures to fill the void at proper wing-back in opposition to the four-time World Cup winners.

“You have seen Brodie play left wing-back, proper wing-back, he is even performed in a again three. We all know how sturdy and athletic he’s,” added Hume.

“Clearly Conor goes to be an enormous miss, however we’re an enormous group, we’re a robust workforce and we’re all collectively.

“It is one thing we have now to cope with and we’ll be prepared.”