Image Credits: Imago Images
Liverpool’s big-money defensive signing Jeremy Jacquet suffered a “serious” shoulder injury just days after sealing his move to Anfield, casting an immediate shadow over what was supposed to be a statement transfer for the club’s long-term backline rebuild.
The Reds only confirmed a £60m agreement with Rennes for the highly rated 20-year-old centre-back at the start of the month, beating off strong interest from Chelsea and other European giants to land a player widely viewed as one of Europe’s standout young defenders. Jacquet completed his medical on Merseyside and signed a long-term deal that will see him officially join the club in the summer, while remaining with Rennes for the rest of the current campaign.
However, during Rennes’ 3-1 defeat away to Lens on Saturday evening, Jacquet landed awkwardly after a challenge and immediately signalled that he could not continue.
He was substituted in the 69th minute, fashioned a makeshift sling by tucking his left arm into his shirt, and required assistance from the Rennes medical staff to leave the pitch, underlining the severity of the problem. Rennes head coach Habib Beye did little to calm fears afterwards, confirming that the issue was with Jacquet’s shoulder and describing the injury as “serious”.
And now it looks like more bad news has arrived. L’Equipe (via GFFN) are reporting that the new Liverpool signing may require surgery to sort out this issue. This would likely mean Jacquet will not play again this season, and could even interrupt his pre-season at Anfield later this year.
They add that he could miss several weeks of action in a best-case scenario, otherwise surgery is set to keep him out even longer. It feels like Arne Slot and Liverpool cannot catch a break regarding injuries, with another promising defender in Giovanni Leoni already out for the entire season.
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