Giovanni Leoni is expected to return to team training at Liverpool by the end of April this year.
This claim comes from Mondo Primavera, with the Italian outlet claiming that the centre-back has returned to individual training on the pitch.
The summer signing from Parma arrived for a fee of £26m (plus add-ons) on a then six-year deal.
It would now seem that Leoni has gotten past the worst of his rehabilitation program after suffering a torn ACL.
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The 19-year-old had, quite tragically, picked up the issue after falling awkwardly in the Reds’ 2-1 victory over Southampton in the Carabao Cup. The same clash that saw Hugo Ekitike handed his marching orders after removing his shirt for a goal celebration while already on a yellow card.
Giovanni Leoni recounted the experience back in January, revealing that he’d told Conor Bradley, “I’ve done my cruciate” after feeling the “strongest pain I have felt in my life.”
It’s a welcome sign that we’ll soon see the footballer back on the pitch and hopefully getting his development back on track.
When Liverpool signed the Italian, they knew they’d bagged one of the most promising defensive talents in Europe.
That much appeared to be confirmed in a tremendous display from Leoni against Southampton – right up until his exit in the 82nd minute.
There is a serious concern for us that the injury could mean we see a totally different player by the time he’s pulling on the famous red shirt again.
In that case, Liverpool will have to significantly alter their transfer plans in the upcoming summer window.
Either way, we still think the club could do with an extra centre-back if possible.
But we want to be absolutely clear that Giovanni Leoni deserves opportunities to prove that he can still fulfil his vast potential in the sport.
Assuming that the club feels they’re happy to proceed with the youngster going into the 2026/27 pre-season, it could provide considerable transfer relief.
Given the price tags we’ve seen around players like Castello Lukeba (£56.7m) and Alessandro Bastoni (£43.5m-plus), it’s fair to assume that landing another top young talent will probably cost Liverpool north of £25m-30m.
It’s a decent chunk of change.
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