Liverpool defender Giovanni Leoni has confirmed he has undergone surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament tear on his left knee.

The Italian centre-back tore his ACL on his Liverpool debut against Southampton in the Carabao Cup on Sept. 23 and coach Arne Slot predicted Leoni will be sidelined for a year.

Leoni, 18, posted on a photograph on Instagram on Wednesday evening where he is seen giving a thumbs up from his hospital bed and said: “Surgery done. Thanks everyone for the messages. I’ll be back soon.”

The Rome-born player, who arrived to Anfield on a £26 million ($35m) transfer from Parma in August and signed a contract until June 2031, now faces an extensive rehabilitation period.

Leoni had attracted interest from top clubs in Italy in the last transfer window after making 17 appearances for Parma in his first campaign in Serie A last season but opted to move abroad.

He was called up to Italy’s senior squad for the first time in August but did not feature in last month’s World Cup qualifiers against Estonia and Israel.

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