Liverpool have suffered a major setback after young defender Giovanni Leoni was ruled out for up to a year with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), manager Arne Slot has confirmed.

The 18-year-old Italian centre-back sustained the serious knee injury on his debut in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup third-round tie against Southampton.

Leoni only joined Liverpool in August from Parma in a deal worth £26 million plus add-ons, and his long-term absence is a significant blow to both the player and the club.

“He is not in a good place because he tore his ACL, which means he will be out for a year,” Slot told reporters.
“Being so young, moving 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 to such an injury, but the only thing we can say is that he is still so young and has many years ahead of him once he recovers.”

The injury leaves Liverpool with just three senior centre-backs available: Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté, and Joe Gomez.

As a result, Liverpool have updated their Champions League squad, replacing Leoni with new signing Federico Chiesa.

Despite the setback, the Premier League champions have started the season strongly under Slot, winning all five league matches so far. Their next test comes on Saturday against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.