Two Italy defenders expected to miss October fixtures after Leoni ACL | OneFootball

Giovanni Leoni is expected to miss the remainder or at least the vast majority of the 2025-26 season with a cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, and Napoli’s Alessandro Buongiorno is also expected to miss around a month of action after coming off towards the end of Napoli’s 3-2 win over Pisa in Serie A.

Leoni picked up a nasty and extremely unfortunate injury on his full debut for Liverpool on Tuesday night, rupturing his ACL 10 minutes before the end of his side’s 2-1 EFL Cup win over Southampton.

The 18-year-old, who was on for his first start since his €35m transfer from Parma, is now expected to be ruled out of action for around nine months.

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 23: Giovanni Leoni of Liverpool receives medical treatment to an injury before being substituted off during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Liverpool and Southampton at Anfield on September 23, 2025 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Italy woes: Not just Leoni, Buongiorno also out injured

Updates on Wednesday confirm that Napoli’s Alessandro Buongiorno is set for a spell on the sidelines through injury.

Though not quite as severe as Leoni’s injury, Buongiorno is expected to miss around a month of action with a low-grade muscular injury to the adductor in his left thigh according to updates from Gianluca Di Marzio.

NAPLES, ITALY – DECEMBER 08: Alessandro Buongiorno of Napoli during the Serie A match between Napoli and SS Lazio at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on December 08, 2024 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

That means that he is expected to miss the October international break, which will see Italy take on Estonia and Israel on the 11th and 14th of the month respectively.

Buongiorno will also miss out on Napoli’s high-profile Serie A clash against Massimiliano Allegri’s Milan this weekend, plus games against Sporting CP in the Champions League, Genoa and Torino in Serie A, and potentially against PSV in Europe next month as well.