Soccer Football - Carabao Cup - Third Round - Liverpool v Southampton - Anfield, Liverpool, Britain - September 23, 2025 Liverpool's Giovanni Leoni in action REUTERS/Phil Noble
(Reuters) -Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni faces around a year on the sidelines after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament tear in Tuesday's 2-1 League Cup win over Southampton, the Premier League club's manager Arne Slot said on Friday.
The 18-year-old Italian, signed from Parma in a deal worth 26 million pounds ($34.74 million) according to British media reports, landed awkwardly in the 81st minute after a challenge and was taken off the pitch on a stretcher.
"He is not in a good place because he tore his ACL which means he will be out around a year. Being so young and coming to a new country and playing so well in your first game, it's very hard to take the positives," Slot told reporters.
"There is never a positive side but you try to look at that and that is that he is still so young and he has so many years still to go after he recovers from a terrible injury."
Slot added that Liverpool were looking into the process of adding Federico Chiesa to their Champions League squad in place of Leoni.
LIVERPOOL OUT FOR REVENGE
Liverpool next travel to Crystal Palace on Saturday, where they will be looking for a measure of revenge after losing to the London club on penalties in the Community Shield.
Palace have beaten Liverpool twice in their last four meetings across all competitions and Slot said he was braced for another tough encounter against a well-drilled outfit.
"They are enormously disciplined defensively. Ten outfield players plus the goalkeeper who work so hard to prevent the other team," the Dutchman added.
"They have some individual players, quality. (Jean-Philippe) Mateta, (Ismaila) Sarr, they have two midfielders who can play, two good centre backs and wing backs. What stands out for me is their defensive work."
Premier League champions Liverpool and Palace are the only teams still unbeaten in the league, with the Merseyside club topping the table thanks to their perfect record of 15 points from five matches.
"To say I am surprised is too strong," Slot said.
"But after our games, if you said we'd have maximum points, I would have signed straight away! Maybe we were a bit lucky to get the maximum points, but we work incredibly hard and when you work hard you get a chance to be lucky.
"I don't think we stole a win but some games a draw would be more fair. Looking at the schedule, I am more than pleased."
($1 = 0.7484 pounds)
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)
