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Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has insisted that he still has enough center-back options despite the long-term injury that Giovanni Leoni suffered this week against Southampton.
Leoni, the 18-year-old who was brought in from Parma in the summer transfer window, has torn his ACL and will be sidelined for the best part of a year. The young Italian was fourth in the pecking order and was expected to play a significant part this season.
Coming up against Crystal Palace this weekend, Liverpool will face a reminder of what could have been in the form of Marc Guehi. The Reds almost wrapped up a deal to sign the England international on deadline day before the plug was pulled on that move.
With Crystal Palace unable to source a replacement for Guehi in time, manager Oliver Glasner was insistent that he couldn't be sold. Instead, the 25-year-old could move to Anfield as a free agent next summer.
"Being so young, coming to a new country, playing so well in your first game, it is very hard to take," Slot said on Leoni's injury. "You always try to look at the positive side and that is that he is still so young that he has so many still to go after he recovers.
"We have some examples with Virgil [van Dijk] and Joe [Gomez] and a lot example all over the world [of players coming back better]. It hurts more if you are closer to retirement, but it's far from ideal.
"The surgeons and the rehab people are important but it's nice if you can do this with players around who have lived through this and they can give the right energy in the right moments. Our players have shown plenty of compassion for him and they will not stop."
On the center-back situation more generally, Slot was adament that there is no crisis or need to worry.
"I don't think one day before we play Palace, we need to talk about Guehi again," he said. "He is a Palace player and he has been very important for them.
"We prepare for Palace, who are a very good team. They have not lost for 17 games in a row, and he is a part of that team.
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"So, a difficult team to beat but so are we. We beat them 1-0 and twice it was a draw.
"And we have more than enough options to replace, if needed, a player in the center-back position, because of course we have Virgil, Ibou and Joe, and other options if needed."
Liverpool.com says: Losing Leoni is a major concern for the Reds. The player should be able to come back stronger, but he looked so good against Southampton.
Now with only three center-backs available to choose, Liverpool looks light, but it couldn't have anticipated such a long-term absence. The worry would be if the likes of Gomez or Konate get smaller knocks, which they have been prone to in the past.
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