Giovanni Leoni to miss 'around a year' as Arne Slot confirms Liverpool wonderkid's ACL injury

That news represents a devastating blow for Leoni, who impressed many with his performance against the Saints. Fears were, however, immediately raised when he was forced out of that contest with nine minutes left on the clock. He was clearly emotional and in pain when being carried from the field on a stretcher.

Liverpool had high hopes for the 18-year-old after investing £26 million ($35m) in his potential, with that transfer agreement including a number of other add-ons. Leoni is an Italy U19 international with limited experience at senior level. He only made his debut for Padova at 16 years of age in 2023.

Slot drafted him in at Anfield after seeing Jarell Quansah depart for Bayer Leverkusen. Liverpool required reinforcements at the heart of their back four as club captain Virgil van Dijk is 34 years of age and a long-term successor to the Dutchman will need to be found at some point. Leoni is considered to be capable of filling that void.

It will, however, be some time before he graces the field again. A long road to recovery is stretching out in front of him after suffering an unfortunate ACL injury. Plenty of physical and mental strength will be required from this point, but time is still on his side when it comes to making a decisive contribution with Premier League giants.

Confirming the news that Leoni is set for a lengthy spell on the treatment table, with it possible that he may not be seen again until the 2026-27 campaign, Liverpool manager Slot told reporters: "He is not in a good place because he tore his ACL which means he will be out around 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 that he is still so young and he has so many years still go to after he recovers from a terrible injury."

Slot added on the Reds having figures in their dressing room that Leoni can look to for inspiration after suffering the first serious setback of his fledgling career: "We have some examples with Virgil and Joe [Gomez] and a lot examples all over the world [of players coming back better]. It hurts more if you are closer to retirement but it's far from ideal. The surgeons and the rehab people are important but it's nice if you can do this with players around who have lived through this and they can give the right energy in the right moments. Our players have shown plenty of compassion for him and they will not stop."

Van Dijk, who suffered his own ACL injury in October 2020, said immediately after seeing a promising team-mate laid low: "He is down because, for him, it didn't feel good immediately. Normally the emotions of a player tell you a lot."

Leoni posted on social media after it became apparent that he would be forced to take in a long rehabilitation programme: "I want to sincerely thank every single person who has shown me support in this difficult moment. It wasn't the debut I had always dreamed of, but I will give everything to be back playing in this magical stadium as soon as possible. Thank you so much!"

Liverpool, who have made a perfect start to their Premier League and Champions League campaigns in 2025-26, now have just three fit recognised centre-halves available in the form of Van Dijk, Gomez and Ibrahima Konte. They have been able to make a change to their European squad, with Italian winger Federico Chiesa - who was initially overlooked - stepping up to take the place of fellow countryman Leoni.