Arne Slot explains why Federico Chiesa has barely played for Liverpool | OneFootball

Liverpool manager Arne Slot blamed a lack of summer preparations and the "intensity" of the Premier League when explaining the continued absence of Federico Chiesa.

The Italy international was signed from Juventus for an initial fee of £10m at the end of August, long after the conclusion of Liverpool's pre-season. Chiesa has made just one start since his summer arrival, a 5-1 Carabao Cup victory over West Ham United, and has only been fit enough to make the bench for two Premier League games.

Slot confirmed that Chiesa would also sit out Liverpool's Champions League tie away to RB Leipzig on Wednesday night and revealed his theory as to why the former Juve star has struggled to sustain full fitness.

"With Federico, he missed a complete pre-season and then went into a league where the intensity might be higher than the Italian league," the boss said. "That makes it difficult for him to make the step towards the intensity levels the rest of the squad are at."

Federico Chiesa directly contributed to 55 goals in 131 appearances for Juventus / Jonathan Moscrop/GettyImages

The Dutch coach would not commit to a return date - "it's difficult to say" - and added: "It's a big disappointment for him that he's going in and out of the training sessions all the time.

"I feel sorry for him but he signed a long-term contract so we will see what he brings for us. At the moment unfortunately for him he’s not available."

Chiesa was billed as Juve's "prototype champion" when Andrea Pirlo oversaw his recruitment in 2020, eventually penning a permanent deal worth £34m. The direct winger starred for the Italian champions at Euro 2020 but suffered a debilitating cruciate ligament tear in January 2022.

A slew of injuries have plagued Chiesa over the subsequent years, missing 120 days due to various fitness complaints over his last two seasons in Turin. Rather than those existing issues, Slot has used the Premier League's heightened intensity to explain Chiesa's absence.