Liverpool given massive injury boost as 'smart' sensation nears comeback

Liverpool given massive injury boost as 'smart' sensation nears comeback The fitness of Liverpool's players was questioned last season. Every week, it felt like at least one or two players were getting side-lined due to injury. Obviously, some of the injuries that Liverpool's first-team squad suffered weren't down to issues that they caused themselves but, a lot of them felt like they could have been avoided. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike, Alexander Isak and Giovanni Leoni were the four players with the most long-term injuries and, although Isak has returned to action, the other three are yet to do so. Obviously, Isak's new injury he suffered while on international duty with Sweden could keep him out for a while again but, at the moment, that's all a bit unclear. However, for one of the three long-term absentees that the Reds have among their ranks, it seems like his time on the sidelines could be about to end. Giovanni Leoni is close to a return to training with Liverpool Leoni has been a Liverpool player for over a year now and he's still not played a game in the Premier League yet. In fact, during his first start for the Reds, he managed to tear his ACL and rule himself out for the entirety of the 2025-26 season. This led to many questions being asked about whether Liverpool would try and sign a new defender in January and, while they did manage to get a deal for Jeremy Jacquet over the line, his transfer wasn't confirmed until the end of the season. Liverpool were then left with nowhere near enough cover at centre-back which resulted in Ryan Gravenberch even being used there once or twice. However, now that Jacquet is in and Ronald Araujo has joined, Liverpool have plenty more cover but, there's no doubt that they'll be happy to welcome Leoni back when he's ready. And, according to TuttoMercatoWeb, that day is coming soon. "One year after the breakup of the crusader, the central defender is preparing to rejoin the group and looks to the future with optimism," they wrote . "It's still slow to wave the Italian flag in Anfield. Neither Federico Chiesa nor Giovanni Leoni have played a single minute this season with the Reds. "Physical reasons for both and if the striker could be available in the first game on his return from the national break, the defender has yet to recover from the break of the crusader a year ago, however, the first encouraging information is coming, the return to training is close. "Liverpool does not intend to rush his return and after all behind with Van Dijk, Araujo, Jacquet and Gomez can afford to wait for him." When Giovanni Leoni returns, he has to prove his worth to Andoni Iraola Since Leoni was a Richard Hughes and Arne Slot signing, Iraola needs to see the Italian at his best. Of course, the performances he was pumping out in the Serie A proves that he has plenty of talent but, since the Premier League is a completely different kettle of fish, it's unclear how well he's going to perform. And, since Slot has now been replaced by the Spaniard, Leoni needs to prove why he was brought to Liverpool in the first place. Obviously, with how well Virgil van Dijk and Jacquet are performing, he's going to have to put in a proper shift during training to try and make his mark and replace them. The Carabao Cup and FA Cup will probably be the ' smart ' defenders best chances so, the sooner he gets back to full fitness, the better.