Overview
- Manager Arne Slot confirmed scans showed an ACL tear and said the 18-year-old is expected to be sidelined for around a year.
- Leoni was injured 81 minutes into his first-team bow in the 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Southampton and was taken off on a stretcher.
- Liverpool now have three recognised centre-backs — Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konaté and Joe Gomez — and Slot said he has cover options for the position.
- Federico Chiesa has been added to the Champions League squad in Leoni’s place under UEFA provisions for long-term injuries.
- Leoni joined from Parma in August for about £26m, a deadline-day move for Crystal Palace’s Marc Guehi collapsed, and Slot declined to revisit the topic before facing Palace.