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SOCCER

Liverpool delay Giovanni Leoni return as rehab runs behind schedule

Andoni Iraola says the defender is now targeting November’s international break for a return to team training after his knee injury.

By TSP Staff
Giovanni Leoni wears a black Liverpool training top outdoors.
Giovanni Leoni in the photograph accompanying Liverpool’s October 15, 2026 rehabilitation update. · Credit: Liverpool FC

Giovanni Leoni’s planned return to Liverpool team training has moved back to November’s international break, coach Andoni Iraola said Thursday.

The defender had been expected to rejoin the group during the most recent break. Iraola said the rehabilitation was taking longer than Liverpool wanted, with roughly another month now added to that plan, according to the club’s official update.

Leoni, 19, suffered an ACL tear during his Liverpool debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup at Anfield in September 2025. Iraola said the damage involved other structures around the knee as well as the ACL.

He described the latest change as a delay rather than a new setback. Liverpool want Leoni to be confident in his recovery and able to stay with the squad once he returns.

The November target concerns training, not a confirmed match comeback. Leoni has continued his rehabilitation with the medical staff at the AXA Training Centre, while Liverpool prepare to visit Brentford on Saturday.

Sources and notes

  1. Rehabilitation update checked against Liverpool’s official account of Iraola’s October 15 press conference.