Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, Liverpool boss Arne Slot has confirmed.
The 18-year-old, who joined the Reds from Parma in a £26 million summer transfer, made his debut in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Southampton. Unfortunately, Leoni suffered the severe knee injury in a late tackle during the 2-1 victory.
Leoni has vowed to return as soon as possible, but Slot delivered a grim prognosis ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Crystal Palace. The setback comes at a crucial time for Liverpool, who now have just three fit centre-backs: Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, and Ibrahima Konaté. Consequently, Leoni has been replaced in Liverpool’s Champions League squad by Federico Chiesa.
Slot commented on the injury:
“He is not in a good place because he tore his ACL, so he will be out for around a year. Being so young, coming to a new country, and playing so well in your first game, it is very hard to take a positive from this. There is no positive side, but he is still so young and has many years ahead after recovering from a terrible injury like this.”
Leoni’s season-ending injury also highlights Liverpool’s failure to secure Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi during the recent transfer window. A £35 million deal was pulled at the 11th hour, with Guehi remaining a key player for Palace.
However, Slot declined to dwell on this issue ahead of the clash with Palace:
“I don’t think one day before we play them is the time to be talking about that again. He is a Crystal Palace player and has been very important to them for as long as he has been there. We have to prepare for Crystal Palace, who are a very good team. They haven’t lost for 17 games in a row now, and he is part of that team. We have more than enough options to replace, if needed, a player at the centre-back position.”
In team news for the Palace visit, Hugo Ekitike will miss out following his red card against Southampton. Alexander Isak is expected to replace him in the starting lineup, although Slot warned the Swedish forward is unlikely to play the full 90 minutes.
“He is further into his pre-season now, and normally after two weeks of pre-season you bring a player to 60-70 minutes,” Slot explained.
The Liverpool boss also criticized Ekitike’s actions that led to his dismissal. The France striker was initially booked for punching the ball away, then sent off for removing his shirt after scoring the winning goal.
Slot branded the red card “stupid” but denied reports that Ekitike had been fined for his conduct:
“Disciplined means I spoke to him, but if disciplined means a fine, he didn’t get one. It wasn’t smart what he did. He recognized that straight away and said sorry to his teammates. He is young. Players of all ages make mistakes, and that is what he did in this situation. He is a fantastic human being. If you speak to all staff members and ask them their top three of the warmest and most polite persons, he would be in the top three.”
Liverpool will look to maintain their strong start to the Premier League season as they prepare to face a resilient Crystal Palace side this weekend.
https://www.breakingnews.ie/sport/liverpools-giovanni-leoni-facing-year-out-with-torn-anterior-cruciate-ligament-1811393.html
