rewrite this title Slot confirms Leoni ACL tear, Chiesa in UCL squad

Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has confirmed that defender Giovanni Leoni will be out for “around for a year” after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the side’s Carabao Cup win over Southampton with Federico Chiesa named as his replacement in the side’s Champions League squad.

Leoni, who joined Liverpool this summer from Serie A side Parma, was unable to continue late in Liverpool’s midweek cup tie and was carried off on a stretcher.

He was initially a part of Slot’s Champions League squad but his spot will now be taken by Chiesa, who registered two assists against Southampton.

“He [Leoni] is not in a good place because he tore his ACL which means he will be out around a year,” Slot said in a news conference on Friday.

“Being so young and coming to a new country and playing so well in your first game, it’s very hard to take the positives.

“There is never a positive side but you try to look at that and that is that he is still so young and he has so many years still go to after he recovers from a terrible injury.”

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Speaking about 17-year old forward Rio Ngumoha — who signed his first professional contract at the club on Thursday after impressing in preseason and scoring the winner for Liverpool in their dramatic 3-2 win over Newcastle — Slot said: “The good thing is that if you are a youngster playing at Liverpool you are playing with players better than what you are,”

“That helps to keep you grounded and for you to know the steps.”

“He’s [Ngumoha] a player who constantly wants to improve, but if he trains with Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah and Chiesa, then he feels there is still a step to make to get to their level and then it’s about being as consistent as those players. That is the hardest part.”

Slot also squashed reports that striker Hugo Ekitike was fined for his untimely red card against Southampton and heaped praise on Crystal Palace, the team his side will take on in the Premier League on Saturday.

“Disciplined means I spoke to him, but if disciplined means a fine, he didn’t get [that]. It wasn’t smart what he did. He recognised that straight away and said sorry to his teammates,” Slot added.

“He is young. Players of all ages do make mistakes and that is what he did in this situation.

“They [Palace] haven’t lost in 17 games now so they are a tough team to beat. They have an enormous discipline and intensity. They have 10 outfield players who work so hard to stop the other team from scoring.”

With Ekitike suspended for the trip to the capital, British-record signing Alexander Isak is set to replace him in the starting XI, although Slot warned the Swede is unlikely to play the full 90 minutes.

“He is further into his preseason now and normally after two weeks of [his] pre-season you bring a player to 60-70 minutes.”

Information from PA contributed to this report.