While most Liverpool players not involved at the World Cup are enjoying some well-earned downtime, Giovanni Leoni is relentlessly continuing apace in his recovery from long-term injury.
The Italian centre-back had his first season at Anfield completely ruined after tearing the ACL in his left knee on his debut against Southampton last September, with that being his one and only senior appearance for the Reds so far.
The Athletic‘s James Pearce shared some positive news towards the end of May when reporting that the 19-year-old is now into the final stages of his rehabilitation and on track to be available for the beginning of pre-season in roughly a month’s time.
On Monday morning, Leoni posted an image to his Instagram story showing him at the AXA Training Centre, with the teenager not letting up in his quest to regain full fitness and make an immediate impression on new head coach Andoni Iraola.
The Liverpool defender didn’t add any captions or emojis for added context, although the presence of the club’s training facility in the photo would appear to speak for itself in this instance.
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The Italian youngster had performed commendably on his Reds debut nine months ago before that deavastating twist of fate in the final few minutes against Southampton, and there’ll be huge excitement among the fan base to see him back in action when the time is right.
Many senior LFC players are likely to have delayed returns to training owing to their involvement at the World Cup, so Leoni must be eyeing the start of pre-season as his chance to instantly impress Iraola.
With Ibrahima Konate leaving, there may be a centre-back berth up for grabs alongside Virgil van Dijk. Joe Gomez is the tried-and-trusted option, and Jeremy Jacquet won’t be content with a benchwarmer role after his £60m move from Rennes, but the Italian may sense an opportunity and be determined to grab it.
Considering how long he’s been out of action, it’ll naturally take a bit of time for the 19-year-old to properly get back up to speed, and patience will be the watchword as he reintegrates into the fold.
Leoni’s social media activity shows the world that he’s gunning to make up for lost time, and hopefully we’ll see him truly make his mark at Liverpool over the next few months and years!
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