Liverpool’s Leoni out for a year with ACL injury

Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni is out for a year after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament, manager Arne Slot says.

The 18-year-old sustained the injury on his debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup third round on Tuesday.

Leoni joined the Reds in August from Parma for a fee of £26m plus add-ons.

“He is not in a good place because he tore his ACL which means he will be out for a year,” said Slot.

“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.

The injury leaves Slot with just three recognised centre-backs in Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez.

Liverpool have added forward Federico Chiesa to their Champions League squad in place of Leoni.

Slot’s side have won all five Premier League matches so far this season in defence of their title.

Sophie Brown, BBC Sport journalist

Giovanni Leoni had to be patient before being given a chance against Southampton but looked every bit the exciting prospect that Liverpool fans were promised, before his terrible injury cut his debut short.

He only made his senior debut in 2023, playing in the Italian third tier for Padova as a 16-year-old, but just two years later he has joined the Premier League champions.

Liverpool were looking for reinforcements in central defence after selling Jarell Quansah to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer and Leoni came in to provide extra cover in an area where the Reds were potentially light.

With Virgil van Dijk now 34, Liverpool need to have an eye on the future. Leoni, 18, certainly ticks that box but also looked ready for the now, despite only establishing himself in Parma’s starting line-up in the second half of last season.

The opportunity to develop his game with the Premier League champions and learn from Van Dijk, who he has previously called his inspiration, helped clinch the move.