Frimpong Targeting Brighton Return as Leoni Faces Year-Long Absence at Liverpool

Liverpool’s Premier League title defence has hit the rocks, and the timing couldn’t be worse.

The defending champions find themselves in ninth place after a frustrating 3-3 draw at Leeds, where Ao Tanaka struck deep into stoppage time to deny them all three points. Add in a 1-1 stalemate with Sunderland last week, and Arne Slot has problems which keep piling up at Anfield.

Frimpong Could Feature Against Brighton on Saturday

Jeremie Frimpong’s Liverpool career hasn’t gone to plan thus far. The Dutch right-back arrived from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer, but hamstring problems have plagued him ever since.

He limped off in the season opener against Bournemouth, returned, then suffered another setback during the 5-1 Champions League thrashing of Eintracht Frankfurt in October. That second injury has now kept him out for seven games.

Slot gave an encouraging update in recent days – he expects Frimpong to rejoin first-team training this week, which puts the Brighton match on Saturday 13 firmly in play. The 24-year-old won’t be rushed – Liverpool’s medical staff will ease him back to avoid another setback, but having him available again would be huge.

Conor Bradley stepped in at Leeds after his own muscle injury, finally giving Slot a natural right-back for the first time in weeks. Joe Gomez filled that role before the Nothern Irishman’s return, but he’s a centre-back by trade.

With the festive fixture pile-up approaching, Liverpool need both Frimpong and Bradley to stay fit. If you want to track how this situation develops, keeping tabs on a solid Football Blog can help to keep you updated on squad news and everything else happening across the Premier League.

Leoni Won’t Play Again This Season After ACL Tear

Giovanni Leoni’s story is much harder to swallow. The 18-year-old cost Liverpool £26m from Parma and looked sharp on his debut in the Carabao Cup against Southampton in September, but then everything fell apart. He landed awkwardly after a challenge, clutched his knee and left the pitch on a stretcher.

Scans confirmed a torn ACL and he will be out for roughly a year, with Slot saying: “He is not in a good place. Being so young and coming to a new country and playing so well in your first game… It’s very hard to take the positive side.”

Leoni had surgery in early October and posted this update on Instagram: “Surgery done. Thanks everyone for the messages. I’ll be back soon.”

Italian surgeon Vincenzo Costa offered some hope, telling Calciomercato that modern techniques mean the knee can return to 100% function, and he believes that Leoni will come back stronger.

That doesn’t help Liverpool now, though, as Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahima Konate and Gomez are the only fit senior centre-backs in Slot’s squad.

Tough Week Ahead with Inter Milan and Brighton

Liverpool face Inter Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday before hosting Brighton at the weekend.

The mood around Anfield feels uneasy – Mo Salah recently claimed that the club “threw me under a bus” after the Leeds draw.

Getting Frimpong back won’t fix everything, but it’s a start, and Slot needs all the help he can get right now.

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