There is finally some encouraging news surrounding Giovanni Leoni, with the young Liverpool defender expected to return to training with the first-team squad later this month.
It has been an incredibly frustrating wait for the Italian, who suffered a devastating knee injury on his Liverpool debut against Southampton in September 2025.
After more than a year of rehabilitation, the 19-year-old is now edging closer to taking another important step in his recovery.
And Liverpool supporters will be delighted to see him getting closer to a return.
A nightmare injury on his Liverpool debut
Leoni arrived from Parma in the summer of 2025 with enormous potential.
Liverpool had identified him as one of Europe’s most exciting young centre-backs, and there was plenty of excitement about what he could bring to the defence.
Unfortunately, his Liverpool career was barely underway when disaster struck.
During his Carabao Cup debut against Southampton, Leoni suffered an ACL injury and had to be stretchered off.
It was a devastating moment for a teenager who had worked so hard to earn his opportunity at Anfield.
What initially looked like a lengthy recovery turned into an even more complicated process.
Andoni Iraola previously explained that the injury involved more than just the ACL, with additional damage around the knee requiring extra caution.
Liverpool must not rush him back
The most important thing now is making sure Leoni returns properly.
Iraola has already made it clear that Liverpool are being extremely careful with his rehabilitation.
The original plan had been for Leoni to return to team training during an earlier international break, but that had to be postponed.
The manager explained that the medical staff wanted to ensure the defender was confident and ready before rejoining the group.
That is absolutely the right approach.
There is no point rushing a 19-year-old back from such a serious injury only to risk another setback.
Getting back into training will be a huge milestone, but he will still need time to rebuild his fitness, sharpness and confidence before competitive football becomes realistic.
Another exciting defensive option for Iraola
Liverpool have plenty of reasons to be excited about Leoni’s potential.
He is comfortable on the ball, possesses impressive physical attributes and has the qualities to develop into an excellent modern centre-back.
His return would give Iraola another option at the back and provide competition as Liverpool continue rebuilding their defensive department.
With Virgil van Dijk providing experience and younger defenders such as Jérémy Jacquet developing, Leoni could have an important role to play in the club’s future.
I certainly wouldn’t expect him to walk straight back into the starting eleven, but simply having him available again would be a welcome boost.
My verdict: We’ve waited long enough – let’s see him back!
I have been looking forward to seeing Leoni back in a Liverpool shirt ever since that horrible night against Southampton.
It is easy to forget how young he is and how much of his Liverpool career has been spent recovering rather than playing.
The priority now is getting him back training, building his fitness gradually and allowing him to rediscover his confidence.
Liverpool have a potentially outstanding young defender on their hands, and I would love to see him finally get the opportunity to show supporters what he can do.
By Jamie
(The Kopite View)
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