Liverpool teenager Giovanni Leoni has returned to light training six months after undergoing surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament. The 19-year-old defender, who joined the Reds from Parma for £26million in the summer, suffered the injury during his debut in a League Cup win over Southampton in September.
The Italian posted a series of images on Instagram showing himself in the gym, kicking a ball on the pitch and running on a treadmill. The update drew emotional support from teammates including Hugo Ekitike, who wrote 'soon back my brother', and Conor Bradley, who was among the first to console him after the injury.
Captain Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate, Curtis Jones, Stefan Bajcetic, Rio Ngumoha and Milos Kerkez also sent encouraging emoji-filled messages. Leoni had previously told La Gazzetta dello Sport that the 'hardest part is over' and that he is focusing on his mental strength to come back stronger.
Reflecting on the moment he went down, Leoni recalled: 'As soon as I hit the ground, I told Conor Bradley: I tore my cruciate ligament. It was a huge, intense pain, the strongest I've ever felt in my life.' He added that for a footballer, such an injury can be the hardest moment of their career, but he is now determined to train his mind to return stronger than before.
