Liverpool’s Giovanni Leoni and Fiorentina’s Tariq Lamptey pick up serious knee injuries | OneFootball

It’s been a dreadful few days of injuries for Italian football, as both Fiorentina’s Tariq Lamptey and Liverpool’s Giovanni Leoni are facing a prolonged spell on the sidelines.

Fiorentina’s early-season struggles continued at the weekend, falling at home to Como 2-1. Stefano Pioli’s men took the lead early, yet lowered their concentration and suffered a second-half leveller from Marc-Oliver Kempf before Jayden Addai won the game deep in stoppage time.

To make matters worse, Tariq Lamptey was forced off the pitch with a knee problem just 20 minutes into his first Serie A start. Now, recent tests have revealed that the former Brighton man suffered an isolated tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and will be out of action after totalling just 25 minutes on the pitch for La Viola.

Fiorentina’s official statement explained that, “Lamptey has undergone, starting from Monday 22 September, a series of clinical and instrumental tests, both static and dynamic, in order to make a diagnosis following the injury sustained during the Fiorentina-Como match on Sunday 21 September.

“Given the complex clinical picture, a diagnostic arthroscopy was performed this morning by Prof. Mariani. The operation revealed an isolated tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in the left knee. The type of injury, however, required reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament, which was perfectly successful. The player will return to Florence in the next few hours to begin the established rehabilitation programme.”

Leoni’s Liverpool suffers before it’s even started

Similar to Lamptey, Liverpool new boy Giovanni Leoni hasn’t enjoyed his start to life in new colours. The 18-year-old defender, who arrived in England after an intriguing breakout with Parma, was injured in his debut match against Southampton in the EFL Cup. The Reds still managed a win as they edged past the Saints with Hugo Ekitike’s 86th-minute winner sealing a 2-1 score.

Gianluca Di Marzio reported that despite the injury, the young centre-back was making a promising start. According to the journalist, Leoni “played his debut match with an excellent performance, and will now have to undergo a period of rehabilitation before returning to the field.”

GIFN | Max Bradfield