Giovanni Leoni return pushed back again after ACL setback at Liverpool

Giovanni Leoni, Liverpool’s defender, has had his return from an ACL injury delayed again after the extent of the knee problem was confirmed, Andoni Iraola revealed. The plan was for the 19-year-old to resume team training during the latest international break, but the schedule has been pushed back by about a month.

Iraola said: “It is taking more time than we wanted.” He explained that with Leoni, the intention was to train with the squad in the past break, but it is now “probably” going to be the next one, which starts on 9 November. The head coach also stressed that it was not just the ACL: “it wasn’t just an ACL… there were a lot of things around the knee involved”.

Leoni suffered the anterior cruciate ligament injury against Southampton in the Carabao Cup 13 months ago, and he joined Liverpool from Parma in 2025 for £26m. Ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Brentford, Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo are still doubts after missing Liverpool’s last two matches with international knocks.