New Liverpool signing Jeremy Jacquet facing surgery on injured shoulder to put remainder of season with Rennes at jeopardy

Jacquet sustained an injury to his left shoulder when appearing for Rennes in their 3-1 defeat to Lens. He left the field in serious discomfort, with fears immediately raised as to when he will be seen again.

According to L’Equipe, Rennes may have already bid farewell to a product of their academy system. It is claimed that Jacquet will need an operation in order to recover full fitness, which could bring his season to a premature conclusion.

Rennes manager Habib Beye admitted in the wake of seeing Jacquet and fellow defender Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal forced out of his immediate plans that the outlook looks bleak on the fitness front. He said: “For Jeremy, it's his shoulder, and for Abdelhamid it's muscular. We'll have time to see, but it's definitely quite serious for both of them.”

Jacquet is being ruled out for several weeks regardless of whether he requires surgery or not. A lengthy period of rehabilitation will be taken in before returning to the field. That could take him through to pre-season training with new employers Liverpool.

The France youth international is looking forward to taking on a new adventure with the reigning Premier League champions. He had been hoping to enjoy a more productive farewell at Rennes, but has an exciting future stretching out in front of him.

Jacquet said when seeing his switch to Anfield wrapped up during the winter transfer window of 2026: “I am honoured to sign for Liverpool, one of the greatest football institutions in the world.

“It was also very important for me to finish my time in red and black on a high, at my boyhood club, the club of my heart. I'm approaching this second half of the season with the desire to experience some great moments with my team-mates and the fans.”

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Liverpool boss Arne Slot said of beating the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United to Jacquet’s signature: “Very pleasing, of course. He's a very big talent and maybe even more than talent but we speak about talent because of his age. Second, because we weren't the only one interested in him so it's a big compliment to the people working really hard to sign players.

“Such a big talent and another example of the model we're using at this club -- young, very talented players sometimes at the start of their careers or sometimes already a little bit a few years into their career but always players that are young and can improve us in the short term but also definitely in the long term. We've signed a lot of them recently and like I've said many times in the mid-long term future of this club, and even the short term, is in a very good place.”

Jacquet has been acquired as Liverpool prepare to lose Ibrahima Konate as a free agent and see club captain Virgil van Dijk turn 35. Slot is adamant that Jacquet is not an immediate replacement for the current skipper at Anfield.

He added on Van Dijk: “Nothing that’s done over here is ever from panic. It’s always a long-term idea or something that has been thought about for a long time. By not only one person, but by multiple people.

“Of course we are aware of the fact that Virgil will not play for this club for 10 more years, but he has a one-and-a-half-year contract left so he will be with us for that period of time and maybe even longer if he keeps staying as fit as he is now.

“Because I’ve said it before, what a compliment to him at his age to play every three days, not only for our club but also for his country, for seven or eight months already. So yeah, hopefully he can stay as fit as he is for multiple years.

“But this club, we are not stupid, we do know that somewhere in the upcoming years there is life for this club without Virgil. So you are now talking about Virgil, but I can say this for every position: this club is not only thinking about the short-term future, but also the mid-to-long-term future, in the decisions we make.”

Liverpool are hoping to have Champions League football to offer Jacquet when he arrives in England. Slot’s side remain in the hunt for European glory this season, having secured automatic qualification to the last 16, but have slipped to sixth in the Premier League table - five points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United.