Injury analyst suggests Giovanni Leoni could yet be sidelined for even longer than first feared | OneFootball

Giovanni Leoni faces a long road back to a full recovery from the horrific ACL injury that he sustained in Liverpool’s recent Carabao Cup win over Southampton.

A terrific Reds debut for the 18-year-old was cruelly cut short when he landed awkwardly following a challenge by the touchline, and Arne Slot subsequently confirmed that the Italian centre-back ‘will be out for a year’ (liverpoolfc.com).

We therefore shouldn’t expect to see the teenager in action again until at least September 2026, but one injury expert has warned that the defender’s comeback could yet be pushed back to an even later date.

Leoni might not play again until 2027

Ben Dinnery – who runs the reliable Premier Injuries website – spoke to Anfield Index about Leoni’s devastating ACL blow; and while he downplayed any fears of it being ‘career-threatening’, he’s advised that it could take the 18-year-old a long time to rediscover his full potential.

He stated: “Once, these injuries were considered as career-ending or career-threatening. Modern technology and recovery processes means that you can mitigate a lot of those risks. However, there are no guarantees that players will always return to pre-injury levels.

“There’s context in and around that like whether there are any secondary issues on top of the ACL injury. You also need to consider the fact that Giovanni is only 18 years old, so Liverpool do have a duty of care to look after the player whilst he is at the club, but also the player and his long-term career.

“I don’t think it’s unreasonable to think that this return to play could potentially extend into late 2026, or even early 2027.”

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Leoni facing a long road back to recovery after ACL hell

For Leoni to be robbed of a whole year of his career is already cruel enough without the possibility of his wait for a comeback extending beyond 16 months.

Any player suffering an ACL injury is horrible to see, and it feels even more heartbreaking when it happens to someone so young who’s only starting out on his journey as a professional footballer and who looked like such a tremendous prospect until fate intervened last week.

The next few months will be arduous for the youngster as he works towards being able to play football again, but the one crumb of comfort is that he has an exceptional support network around him.

Virgil van Dijk has also been through ACL hell, and we don’t doubt that the captain will provide all the help that he can to Leoni as the teenager undergoes a long recovery process.

The day that this gem of a player makes his comeback will be a glorious one. However long it might take, we just hope that he recovers fully and will go on to have the career befitting of his enormous talents.

You can watch Slot’s full post-Galatasaray press conference via Empire of the Kop on YouTube: