Fears of serious injury for big money Liverpool signing

There are fears that new Liverpool signing Giovanni Leoni may have suffered a serious injury on his debut.

Leoni was making his first appearance on Tuesday against Southampton in the League Cup following his €35 million summer move from Parma.

The 18-year-old had put it in an excellent performance when he fell awkwardly near the touchline towards the end of the match, which Liverpool won 2-1.

Leoni was in severe pain as he was treated by medics, having suffered an injury to his left knee.

Leoni injury

The centre back was stretchered off the pitch with his knee in a splint and Arne Slot was not positive after the game.

“Of course, he is down because for him it didn’t feel good immediately, but this is something now we have to assess,” Slot said.

“Normally these things don’t happen in five to 10 minutes and you have to wait for tomorrow to see how he comes in and then maybe do an MRI scan to know more about how serious it is.

“Normally the emotions of a player tell you a lot… Let’s hope for the best.”

Leoni is one of the most exciting young defenders in Europe after a breakout second half to the 2024/25 season at Parma.

The centre back put in a string of dominant performances in the run-in to help Parma avoid relegation.

His most memorable games were the shutouts against Napoli and Juventus in the final weeks of the season when he bullied Romelu Lukaku and Dusan Vlahovic, respectively.

Leoni is outstanding in the air and had the highest percentage of duels won aerially in Europe’s top five leagues last season for players 20 and under.

The 6ft 5in star made 17 appearances for Parma last season andwon his first call-up for the Italy national team thismonth.

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