Giovanni Leoni is closing in on a return to Liverpool training, 12 months after suffering an ACL injury
KIRKBY, ENGLAND - JULY 14: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Giovanni Leoni of Liverpool during a training session at AXA Training Centre on July 14, 2026 in Kirkby, England. (Photo by Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
Giovanni Leoni is closing in on a return for Liverpool(Image: Getty Images)
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Perhaps the most striking thing about the image Giovanni Leoni posted on his Instagram story this time last year is how much different he now appears.
It was October 1, 2025 when the young Italian posted a picture from his hospital bed, having just undergone surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained towards the end of what had been an otherwise superb Liverpool debut, in a win over Southampton in the Carabao Cup.
Pictured in his hospital gown in a thumbs-up pose, Leoni thanked those who had sent him positive messages and explained that he would "be back soon".
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It might be fair to say that over 12 months may not necessarily be deemed "soon" but Liverpool have taken no rush, giving the promising Italian centre-back all the time he needs to return a better, more rounded player.
In the year since that hospital shot was taken, if Leoni has been unable to grow as a player, he certainly appears to have done so as a person, both physically and mentally.
Still well over two months until the end of his teens, it's been striking how much the defender has bulked up since he received the green light to return to the gym at the AXA Centre in Kirkby.
The six-foot-six teenager now looks like a man mountain and it is fair to say he has been desperate to get back onto the pitch to belatedly start his career at Anfield. Those who have watched the transformation up close have been impressed by his dedication.
Another Instagram image of Leoni standing in the shadow of a giant clock with the caption "countdown", posted back in August, was also a nod to his belief that he was closing in on a comeback. As the final days now approach, he will surely be champing at the bit.
Liverpool were disappointed to lose Ibrahima Konate when an agreement over new terms couldn't be reached and he walked as a free agent in the summer.
Anfield chiefs had looked to keep the now Real Madrid man in their squad to help the likes of Leoni and Jeremy Jacquet develop alongside the patriarch of the centre-back department, club captain Virgil van Dijk.
But the decision not to bow to Konate's eye-watering wage demands was taken in the belief that in Jacquet and Leoni, the Reds had two of Europe's most promising defenders under the age of 21 in their squad.
With Liverpool fully aware of the fact that Van Dijk's contract would expire in the summer of 2027 - around the time of his 36th birthday - the need to bolster and future-proof in that area of the pitch has been obvious in more recent transfer windows.
Signed for an initial £26m in August 2025, Liverpool fended off strong interest from clubs in Leoni's Italian homeland, including Inter, who were keen to recruit him on the back of a campaign that had seen them beaten in the Champions League final by Paris Saint-Germain.
It would have been easy for Leoni to stay in Italy and play for a giant of Serie A in the Nerazzurri, particularly given he was still a teenager with just a season of first-team football under his belt at Parma.
And, in truth, there might have even been some moments immediately after his painful setback last year when he might have thought he chose the wrong path by moving to Merseyside.
It's one of the issues clubs know they have to tread carefully over whenever a young player suffers such a debilitating injury.
On the one hand, more youthful players naturally find it easier to bounce back physically, but it is often much tougher for those less experienced to handle the injury from a mental perspective.
It's why Jurgen Klopp used to profess the need for younger players to become 'old souls' regarding such matters. The maturity Leoni has shown by not rushing his recovery has been commendable, particularly given he is at a new club and no doubt desperate to make an impression.
The centre-half chose to complete his rehabilitation period at the club's training base rather than return to Italy as he wanted to build up his relationships with the staff, the people who have helped him along this past year.
Liverpool felt that acting decisively was important when they signed Leoni. It was thought there was an increasing dearth of high-quality, experienced centre-backs, which would only have driven up the price for suitable players at the time.
It's why Anfield's key decision-makers have been content to shell out around £90m on Leoni and Jacquet, knowing they have secured two potentially top talents for years to come alongside the fellow new recruits, Mor Talla Ndiaye and Ifeanyi Ndukwe, whose profiles meant they arrived with significantly less senior experience and much smaller transfer fees.
The ability to play alongside and learn from Van Dijk is something Leoni has been robbed of this past year but he is eager to make up for lost time. The belief is that he can start full team training after the international break.
By that point, images of him in his hospital gown, fresh from surgery, will start to fade away and Liverpool can finally start to reap a return on their investment.
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