Federico Chiesa voices classy message of support for Giovanni Leoni after gutting injury blow | OneFootball

Federico Chiesa has sent a classy message of support to Giovanni Leoni after the teenage defender’s Liverpool debut was cut short by injury.

The 18-year-old had given a tremendous account of himself against Southampton before landing awkwardly in the final few minutes of the match, with Arne Slot confirming afterwards that the centre-back will undergo a scan to determine the severity of the body blow.

Injury analyst @physioscout on X noted that the ‘knee collapsing in and pivoting nature’ could be ‘suspicious of an ACL injury’; and if that nightmare scenario comes to pass, the youngster’s season will already be over.

Chiesa’s message of support to Leoni

Chiesa – whose own performance last night was rightly lauded by Alisson Becker – expressed his support for compatriot Leoni as Liverpool await the results of the scan.

The Italian forward told All Red Video: “I am sorry for Giovanni Leoni after what happened to him. We don’t know yet.

“I hope it is nothing bad because he has a bright future ahead. He is a fantastic guy and great footballer. He is just 18, so I hope it is nothing bad. We will have to wait and see.”

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Chiesa able to empathise with Leoni after his own injury woes

Having endured an ACL injury of his own in 2022 which sidelined him for nine months, Chiesa will be all too able to empathise with Leoni as the teenager faces a nervous wait for the scan to reveal the extent of the damage.

It’s never nice to see any footballer getting injured, and it’s especially heartbreaking to witness young players having their development thwarted by a lengthy layoff just as their careers are showing signs of great promise.

The 18-year-old had enjoyed a terrific performance last night before being forced off, making six clearances, winning four of his five duels and completing 97% of his passes (Sofascore) in a brilliantly assured display.

Slot’s post-match tone on Leoni’s body blow was laced with trepidation, and the initial analysis of objective injury experts doesn’t sound encouraging, but we can only hope that it isn’t as bad as it looked when he was being stretchered off.

Fingers crossed that the teenager hasn’t been serioulsy injured and that we’ll see him back in action before long.