Who is Giovanni Leoni, the Liverpool defender who has been injured for about a year?

Liverpool Defender Giovanni Leoni is likely to be in front of the side for «about a year» after tearing the ACL in his left leg, manager Arne Slot said Friday.

The 18-year-old Italian defender, who participated in the low season from Parma, first appeared for Liverpool in the English League Cup victory in Southampton on Tuesday, but his debut ended in the 81st minute after he landed in a tackle.

«Of course he is not in a good place because he tore his ACL, which means he will be out for about a year,» said Slot.

«Being so young, coming to a new country, playing so well in your first game. It is very difficult to set the positive side – there is never a positive side, but you always try – and it is that he is still so young, so he has so many years to go after he recovers from such a terrible injury.» Liverpool’s time frame leaves Liverpool with only three established central backs to the transfer window of January – Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Joe Gomez.

Slot said that Liverpool is looking for winger Federico Chiesa who takes Leoni’s place in the Champions League team of the team for this season.

Published on September 26, 2025