Liverpool new boy Jeremy Jacquet screams in agony and forced off with injury | Football | Sport

Jeremy Jacquet was forced off the pitch with a shoulder injury during Rennes’ defeat to Lens on Saturday. The 20-year-old defender, who will join Liverpool in the summer, seemed to injure his shoulder after an awkward fall in the 69th minute. After crying out in pain, he was assisted off the field by medical staff and replaced by team-mate Mahamadou Nagida.

Ligue 1 sent a message to the injured player on their X (formerly Twitter) account, posting: “Get well soon Jeremy Jacquet.” Rennes had initially taken the lead in the match before Lens, who currently sit at the top of the French league table, staged a comeback to secure victory.

Former Premier League stars Odsonne Edouard and Allan Saint-Maximin scored the goals to condemn Rennes to a 3-1 defeat away from home.

Speaking at his press conference on Thursday, Liverpool manager Arne Slot said: “Very pleasing (to sign him), of course. He’s a very big talent and maybe even more than talent but we speak about talent because of his age.

“Second, because we weren’t the only one interested in him so it’s a big compliment to the people working really hard to sign players.

“Such a big talent and another example of the model we’re using at this club, young, very talented players sometimes at the start of their careers or sometimes already a little bit a few years into their career but always players that are young and can improve us in the short term but also definitely in the long term.

“We’ve signed a lot of them recently and like I’ve said many times in the mid-long term future of this club, and even the short term, is in a very good place.”

Jacquet’s injury comes as Liverpool continue to grapple with their own defensive woes.

After Trent Alexander-Arnold’s departure to Real Madrid in the summer, his replacement Jeremie Frimpong has been absent from recent matches due to an issue.

Conor Bradley is also sidelined with a serious knee injury. Giovanni Leoni is expected to be out until at least next season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, while Joe Gomez continues to battle with persistent fitness issues.