Image Credits: Imago Images
Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni was stretchered off the pitch after suffering an injury in the Carabao Cup clash against Southampton.
The Italian was making his full debut for the Reds against the Championship side, and in a frustrating first half for Arne Slot’s team, the summer signing from Parma was a bright spot for Liverpool.
However, the 18-year-old’s evening at Anfield ended in heartbreak.
He tangled with a Southampton player and was left writhing in pain on the ground.
As he was carried off on the stretcher, the Anfield crowd rose to their feet and gave him a standing ovation, while Slot checked on the central defender.
Leoni was replaced by fellow summer signing Milos Kerkez. It was a disappointing end to an otherwise impressive performance.
Arne Slot has since provided the latest update on Leoni’s injury.
“Of course, he is down because for him it didn’t feel good immediately, but this is something now we have to assess,” Slot told his post-match press conference at Anfield.
“Normally these things don’t happen in five to 10 minutes and you have to wait for tomorrow to see how he comes in and then maybe do an MRI scan to know more about how serious it is.
“Normally the emotions of a player tell you a lot. I saw during the weekend a player in the Dutch Eredivisie who went out completely in tears – Ruben van Bommel, by the way, of PSV – and a day later it proved to be that it was right.
“Let’s hope for the best.”.
He added: “Not our best performance. You can expect that if you play a complete new team.
“So many players that haven’t played for a long time
“There were positives. Giorgi Mamardashvili had a good game, Federico Chiesa and Giovanni Lioni had a good game.
“A first goal for Alexander [Isak] and another from Hugo [Ekitike].
“Positives from the game but how we played as a team – not taking anything away from Southampton because they played well – it wasn’t our best performance.”
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