Liverpool suffer fresh blow as Arne Slot delivers Giovanni Leoni injury update after defender stretchered off | OneFootball

Liverpool’s summer signing was stretchered off during the Carabao Cup win on Tuesday night

Liverpool boss Arne Slot says he is “hoping for the best” regarding Giovanni Leoni’s injury.

Leoni, a summer signing from Parma, made his Liverpool debut in their Carabao Cup third round win over Southampton on Tuesday night.

With captain Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate both given the night off, the young Italian was handed a start in central defence alongside Joe Gomez.

However, Leoni’s debut was cut short after 81 minutes following an awkward landing after a challenge on the touchline.

The teenager was given treatment before being taken off on a stretcher and was visibly emotional upon being forced from the field.

Speaking of Leoni after the game, Slot said: "Of course, he is down because for him it didn’t feel good immediately, but this is something now we have to assess.

"Normally these things don’t happen in five to 10 minutes and you have to wait for tomorrow to see how he comes in and then maybe do an MRI scan to know more about how serious it is.

"Normally the emotions of a player tell you a lot. I saw during the weekend a player in the Dutch Eredivisie who went out completely in tears - Ruben van Bommel, by the way, of PSV - and a day later it proved to be that it was right.

"Let’s hope for the best."

Injury blow: Giovanni Leoni

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Central defence is one department where Liverpool are a little short after missing out on a deal for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi on transfer Deadline Day.

That is the first of three successive away games for the Reds as they face Galatasaray in the Champions League and then Chelsea before the October international break.