Why Leoni’s Return to Training Is Bigger News Than It Looks

It has been well over a year since Giovanni Leoni last trained properly with his Liverpool teammates, and for long stretches of that spell it looked like a date worth circling on the calendar might never actually arrive. That appears to be changing.

According to Gregg Evans of The Athletic, Leoni is expected to rejoin full training during the week of 12 October, a target that would mark the final meaningful step in an unusually long and difficult rehabilitation from an ACL injury suffered on his competitive debut.

A rehabilitation built on patience

Leoni joined Liverpool from Parma amid considerable optimism, seen as both an immediate squad option and a long term building block in defence. Instead, a sickening injury on his first appearance turned what should have been an introduction into a frustrating year largely spent on the sidelines, away from matchday squads and largely out of the conversation around the first team.

Leoni’s recovery has not been rushed at any stage, and Liverpool deserve some credit for resisting the temptation to accelerate it. Rather than return home to Italy to recuperate, he chose to stay at the AXA Training Centre, working through his rehabilitation while also settling into life in England and improving his English away from the spotlight.

Andoni Iraola has previously flagged Leoni as the furthest along of Liverpool’s long term absentees, even while cautioning in the summer that a full return was still months away. That caution looks to have been well placed given how deliberate the timeline has been, but it also makes this update feel like genuine progress rather than another false start.

Why this matters for Iraola’s plans

There is an obvious temptation to get carried away with a defender who has not kicked a ball competitively in over a year, and that temptation is worth resisting. Physical readiness and match sharpness are two different things, and Leoni will need time to rediscover the rhythm that only competitive football can provide.

Even so, there is plenty to like about what he offers. Standing at six foot five with genuine mobility for his size, Leoni fits the profile of centre back that modern Liverpool sides have lacked at times, and his age means the club can afford to be patient about exactly when he becomes a regular rather than forcing the issue. Liverpool’s former head coach once described the Italian as developing into a beast physically, which says plenty about how his rehabilitation has been managed behind the scenes.

His return also lands at an interesting moment for Liverpool’s defensive picture more broadly. Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez are both moving into the final year of their contracts, and the club have been building a younger group of defensive options around names like Jeremy Jacquet, Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Mor Talla Ndiaye. Leoni slots into that long term project as a player Iraola reportedly wanted to sign even before his move to Bournemouth fell through, and one he will now finally get the chance to assess properly.

Our view

For supporters, this is exactly the kind of update that lifts the mood without needing much embellishment. Leoni arrived with real expectation, barely had time to introduce himself, and then suffered one of the cruellest injuries a young player can face. Seeing him close in on a return to full training is reason enough to feel good about where things stand.

That said, nobody should expect him to walk straight back into regular involvement. The gap between returning to training and contributing in the Premier League is significant, and Leoni will need minutes, patience and probably a run in a less demanding competition before he is ready for sustained top level football.

What matters most right now is the timing. Iraola is still shaping this Liverpool side, and a player of Leoni’s profile, young, physically imposing and already backed by his head coach from his Bournemouth days, represents exactly the kind of long term asset worth waiting for.

Getting him back in the building is the win for now. Whatever comes after that will be a bonus, and after everything Leoni has been through since that day on his debut, it is a bonus Liverpool supporters will be happy to wait for.