Federico Chiesa injury reality clear for Liverpool despite Arne Slot's 'sorry' admission

While it is true that Federico Chiesa arrived at Liverpool with a questionable injury history, for the small initial price of $13 million (£10m/€12m), it was a deal worth gambling on.

Sporting director Richard Hughes only signed the Italian forward and goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili during the first summer for both him and Arne Slot, but each has the potential to be shrewd additions. And while Liverpool is yet to see much of Chiesa and Mamardashvili was only ever going to arrive in 2025, that remains the case.

Chiesa has only played a total of 78 minutes for Liverpool so far and he has missed the last three matchday squads because of an injury. Slot was vague midweek but confirmed ahead of this weekend that he is unlikely to be involved against Arsenal.

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After he suggested that the Liverpool number 14 was struggling to adapt to the intensity of English soccer, alarm bells starting ringing for some. In Italy, Calciomercato suggested that he could even be loaned back to a Serie A side in January with the likes of Napoli and AC Milan said to be keeping an eye on the situation.

In reality, though, it was always going to be the case that Chiesa would be a bit-part player even when fully fit and up to speed. Mohamed Salah has the right wing berth nailed down and Slot has two options in each of the other forward roles.

Having not signed for Liverpool until August 28 — by which time Premier League matches against Ipswich Town and Brentford had already been taken care of — he missed the whole of pre-season. Chiesa arrived behind the rest of his teammates physically and in need of time to get used to his new surroundings. It was always going to take time.

"With Federico, it’s a bit more simple; although it’s more difficult, it’s a bit more simple to explain," Slot told reporters before the Champions League win over RB Leipzig. "He missed a complete pre-season, I said this many times.

"Going to a league where the intensity might even be higher than the Italian league — we just faced the two Italian teams [Milan and Bologna in the Champions League], so I can say this now — that makes it difficult for him to make the step towards the intensity levels the rest of the team is at at the moment.

"That has not so much to do with the Italian league or the Premier League, that has more to do with him missing a complete pre-season and that is so difficult for every player — when the games are constantly there — to build them up towards the levels we are at. So, difficult to say, but it’s a big disappointment for him that he is going in and out of the training sessions all the time. I feel sorry for him."

Slot was hardly delivering a bombshell piece of news, however. Liverpool knew when he arrived that it would take time for Chiesa to be ready for regular action and that has so far proven to the case.

Perhaps because of the experiences of players like Naby Keita and Thiago Alcantara in the recent past, Liverpool fans are scarred and know that sometimes, peak fitness never arrives despite the best work behind the scenes. Right now, though, it is far too early to point to that being the outcome with Chiesa. He has a track record of injuries, but his history at Liverpool simply isn't long enough to make that call.