Liverpool’s summer signing Giovanni Leoni is facing a significant spell out injured amid reports he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament on his debut against Southampton.
The 18-year-old received extensive treatment at Anfield after a late tackle in the 2-1 Carabao Cup win left the Italian writhing in agony—though many assumed the issue was related to the whack on the back of the head Leoni received when hitting the turf.
Leoni, a £30 million ($40.7 million) arrival from Parma inclusive of add-ons, was eventually stretchered off, with manager Arne Slot admitting post-match that he was “hoping for the best,” but the and state that Liverpool’s fears that he suffered a serious injury have come to fruition.
No timescale has been put on when Leoni could return to action, nor have Liverpool made any public comment on the situation. But if Leoni has torn his ACL, he could be facing an uphill battle to return to action before the conclusion of the 2025–26 campaign—most injuries of this severity take at least six to nine months to recover from, while in some cases players take over a year to start playing again.
Leoni had enjoyed a solid debut for Liverpool, completing 88 of his 91 passes (97%) next to Joe Gomez in the heart of the defence. His performance was described by Slot as “great”, but understandably the Dutchman’s interview quickly focused on how long Leoni could be sidelined for.
