The 19-year-old defender has been out since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament against Southampton last September, but The Athletic reports that he is expected to resume full training during the week beginning October 12.
Leoni’s comeback has taken longer than Liverpool initially hoped, but the latest update represents an important stage in his rehabilitation. He has spent much of the recovery period working at the AXA Training Centre rather than returning to Italy.
Goal.com reports that people around Liverpool have been impressed by the Italian’s approach to his rehabilitation, with the defender also using his time away from competitive football to improve his English and become more familiar with the club.
Liverpool signed Leoni from Parma for £26 million in August 2025, and he had only 81 minutes of senior football for the club before the injury ended his debut against Southampton.
His return will give Andoni Iraola another option in a defence that has already undergone significant investment in young players. Jeremy Jacquet and Mor Talla Ndiaye have joined the group, while Ronald Araújo provides another experienced option alongside the established senior defenders.
Leoni is unlikely to move straight into competitive action once he resumes full training. He will first need to rebuild match fitness and regain the rhythm required after such a lengthy absence.
Liverpool had previously planned for him to begin working with the squad during the international break, according to comments made by Iraola in September. The latest timetable suggests that the final stages of his return have taken a little longer than initially anticipated.
The defender’s rehabilitation has nevertheless been viewed positively inside the club. Remaining at the AXA Training Centre has allowed him to continue working within Liverpool’s environment throughout the process rather than completing the recovery away from Merseyside.
That commitment has also given Leoni additional time to adapt to life at his new club. For a teenager who arrived from Italy only weeks before suffering the injury, the extended spell around Liverpool’s first-team set-up has provided a different kind of education.
The immediate target is now full training rather than a return to the starting XI. Once Leoni reaches that stage, Liverpool can gradually determine when he is ready for competitive football.
After a year in which his Liverpool career was almost entirely put on hold, the October return would represent the first real opportunity for Leoni to resume the progress that made him one of Italy’s most closely watched young defenders.