I’ve been waiting a long time to see Giovanni Leoni play football again.
Now it looks like that wait could finally be coming to an end.
According to The Athletic’s Gregg Evans, Leoni is expected to return to full training with Liverpool this month, with the most likely date being the week commencing October 12.
That is brilliant news.
It has been an incredibly frustrating year for Leoni.
He arrived at Liverpool from Parma last summer as one of the most exciting young defenders in Italy. Then, just when supporters were beginning to see what he could do, everything changed.
Leoni made his Liverpool debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup on September 23, 2025.
He played 81 minutes.
Then he suffered an ACL injury.
That was it.
His first Liverpool season was effectively over before it had even started.
And for a young player who had just made the biggest move of his career, it must have been incredibly difficult.
Now, nearly a year later, we’re finally getting somewhere.
Don’t expect Liverpool to rush him
The important thing is that full training doesn’t mean Leoni will suddenly be thrown into the starting XI.
Liverpool have absolutely no reason to do that.
The club’s own injury update previously confirmed that the plan was for Leoni to return to team training during the international break, while Iraola also said the Italian would be the next long-term absentee expected to rejoin the group.
That is exactly how it should be handled.
He’s been out for almost a year with an ACL injury.
There is no point rushing him back because Liverpool fans are desperate to see him.
Let him train.
Let him get used to playing with his teammates again.
Let him build up his fitness.
Then, when the medical staff and coaching team think he’s ready, give him some minutes.
I’d much rather wait an extra few weeks and see Leoni properly fit than watch him come back too quickly and suffer another setback.
Liverpool have changed while he’s been away
This is the interesting part.
Leoni left the Liverpool first-team picture before we really knew what he could become.
Now he is returning to a defence that looks very different.
Virgil van Dijk is still there.
Jérémy Jacquet has emerged as a hugely promising young centre-back.
Ronald Araújo has shown that he can give Liverpool another option in defence and at right-back.
Joe Gomez is back involved.
So Leoni isn’t returning to a team desperately waiting for someone to save the defence.
And that’s actually a good thing.
There won’t be the same pressure on him to immediately become a first-team regular.
He can come back gradually and fight for his place.
That’s what I want to see.
Because I still haven’t forgotten that Liverpool didn’t spend around £26 million on a 19-year-old centre-back from Parma without believing he had something special. Reports at the time described him as one of the brightest young defenders in Italy, and Liverpool clearly saw a long-term player in him.
We just haven’t had the chance to see it yet.
I still want to see what Leoni can do
That’s probably what excites me most about this.
There has been so much talk about Leoni’s potential, but potential is one thing.
I want to see him actually play.
I want to see how comfortable he is on the ball.
I want to see his passing.
I want to see how he handles the physical side of Premier League football.
And I want to see how he looks alongside Jacquet and Van Dijk.
Because Liverpool could have a really interesting group of centre-backs developing behind their captain.
But I’m not going to put ridiculous expectations on Leoni.
He’s 19.
He’s coming back from a serious injury.
He has played just 81 competitive minutes for Liverpool.
That’s nowhere near enough to start declaring that we’ve found the next great Liverpool defender.
Let’s just let the lad play.
This is the bit Liverpool fans have been waiting for
There is something quite nice about seeing a player finally getting close to a comeback after such a horrible injury.
Leoni arrived with plenty of excitement around him.
Then, almost immediately, he disappeared from view.
For months we’ve heard updates about his rehabilitation, but nothing beats seeing a player back on the training pitch with his teammates.
And that’s what we’re getting closer to now.
Giovanni Leoni is coming back.
Not tomorrow.
Not necessarily next week.
And certainly not with any guarantee that he’ll walk straight into Iraola’s team.
But he’s getting closer.
After everything he’s been through, that’s more than enough for me.
Let’s get him fit, give him time and see what we’ve actually got.
Jamie (The Kopite View)
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