Liverpool boss Arne Slot says Giovanni Leoni’s season is over after ACL injury

Arne Slot has confirmed Giovanni Leoni will be out for around a year after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the midweek League Cup victory over Southampton.

The 18-year-old Italian, a £26m summer signing from Parma, landed awkwardly following a touchline challenge late in the game.

He was assessed at length by the club’s medical team before leaving the pitch on a stretcher in visible distress, casting a blight on an impressive debut performance. 

Leoni will now undergo surgery before embarking on a lengthy period of rehabilitation.

What did Slot say about Leoni’s injury?

“He is not in a good place, of course, because he tore his ACL, which means he will be out for around a year,” said Slot ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Crystal Palace.

“Being so young, coming to a new country, playing so well in your first game, it’s very hard to take the positives. 

“There’s never a positive side, but you always try to look at a positive side, and that is that he is still so young, so he has so many years still to go after he recovers from a terrible injury like that.”

Leoni’s injury leaves Liverpool with only three recognised senior centre-backs: first-choice pairing Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konaté, together with Joe Gomez. 

What other defensive options does Slot have following Leoni’s injury?

Konaté and Gomez have themselves proved injury-prone in the past, but Slot is nonetheless confident he has enough defensive options, with midfielders Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo among those able to fill in if required. Liverpool were linked with a move for Valencia defender César Tárrega earlier this week.

The Dutchman said the support of Van Dijk and Gomez, both of whom have suffered ACL injuries in the past, would be invaluable in supporting Leoni through the difficult weeks and months ahead.  

“That definitely helps,” said Slot. “I think the main and most important thing is the surgeons who are going to do the surgery, then second of all the ones that do the recovery with him. 

“But it’s always nice if you can do this in a surrounding with players that have lived through this as well.

“They can give you the right energy maybe, in certain moments, and I think our players already showed in the last two days a lot of compassion towards him, and they will not stop doing that.”

What did Slot say about facing Crystal Palace’s Marc Guéhi?

Given the identity of Saturday’s opponents, there is an obvious temptation to ponder what might have been. Liverpool were on the brink of completing a £35m transfer for Palace defender Marc Guéhi on transfer deadline day, only for the move to fall through at the 11th hour after the club were unable to sign a suitable replacement.

Slot declined to dwell on what might have been – “I don’t think, one day before we play them, to talk about that again” – and said his sole focus was on defeating a Palace side unbeaten in 11 league games stretching back to last season.

That task will not be made easier by the suspension of Hugo Ekitike, the French striker who has plundered three goals in five league outings since his summer arrival from Eintracht Frankfurt.

The 23-year-old was dismissed for a second bookable offence against Southampton after he removed his shirt while celebrating the winning goal. He had previously been booked for punching the ball away in frustration, and Slot later described the striker’s conduct as “needless” and “stupid”.

What did Slot say about Ekitike’s suspension?

The Dutchman said reports that Ekitike has been disciplined by the club were wide of the mark, however, and reserved warm praise for the front man’s character and handling of the situation.

“It wasn’t very smart what he did,” Slot reiterated. “He recognised [that] himself immediately. He said sorry straightaway to his team-mates.

“He’s young. Players of all ages do make mistakes and that’s what he did in this situation. But we all make mistakes, and you’re allowed at this club to make a mistake without immediately getting fined.

“He’s a fantastic human being. I think if you talk to all of the staff members and asked them for a top three of the warmest persons and the politest persons, I think he’s in every staff member’s top three.”

Who will face Crystal Palace in Ekitike’s absence?

Slot confirmed that Alexander Isak is likely to start the game, although suggested it was unlikely the Sweden international would play 90 minutes as he continues to build up fitness following his deadline-day arrival from Newcastle. 

Federico Chiesa, who set up both goals on Tuesday night, is expected to pick up the slack as Liverpool seek a sixth straight league win. 

Chelsea and Manchester City are the only clubs to open a Premier League title defence with six wins. Both went on to retain the trophy.