Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni has been ruled out of action for a year after he suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tear earlier this week, as revealed by manager Arne Slot. The injury to the
18-year-old happened during his debut match for Liverpool against Southampton at Anfield in the third round of the EFL Cup on Tuesday, September 23, derailing his career before it could really begin at the current Premier League champions.
Notably, in the recently concluded summer transfer window, Liverpool signed Giovanni Leoni from Parma for a reported fee of £26m plus add-ons, to bolster their defensive side of things for the ongoing season. But with his injury, the Merseyside club currently have just three recognised centre-backs namely Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, and Joe Gomez, which in all likelihood will force them to go for a player of the similar profile in January.
Giovanni Leoni is not in a good place because he tore his ACL which means he will be out for a year: Arne Slot
Ahead of their Premier League clash against Crystal Palace at the Selhurst Park on Saturday, September 27, Arne Slot gave an update on the injury of Giovanni Leoni, and it wasn’t a good one. He was quoted as saying, as per BBC Sport, “He is not in a good place because he tore his ACL which means he will be out for a year. Being so young and coming to a new country and playing so well in your first game, it's very hard to take the positives.”
“There is never a positive side but you try to look at that, and that is he is still so young and he has so many years still go to after he recovers from a terrible injury,” he added. Geovanni Leoni was added to the UEFA Champions League squad of Liverpool, and now, he has been replaced by fellow Italian Federico Chiesa, who plays in the midfield instead of being a defender of note.
Moreover, Liverpool are currently leading the Premier League standings by five points after winning their first five matches of the season.
