Leoni's long wait just got longer

Leoni tore his ACL on his first appearance for the club, the kind of debut nobody wants to be remembered for. The expectation, going into the recent international break, was that he'd be back working with the group around now. Instead, Iraola has had to tell reporters the timeline has slipped, pointing to the severity of the knee injury rather than any fresh issue.

For a club that brought him in to add depth at the back, it's a blow that lands at an awkward moment. Losing a centre-back signing for months rather than weeks tightens Iraola's defensive options just as the fixtures start to pile up.

A debut that never really got going

Leoni's situation is the kind that sums up why clubs dread pre-season and early-season fixtures turning serious that fast. He arrived at Bournemouth as a genuine addition to the back line, the sort of signing meant to bed in and compete for a starting spot. Instead of settling in, he's spent his entire time at the club so far in a rehab room.

Iraola's explanation focused on the severity of the injury rather than any complication in surgery or rehab, which at least suggests this is a cautious delay rather than a worrying new development. But a month added onto an ACL recovery timeline is still a month longer without a player the club specifically went and got.

No fresh date attached

There's no return date attached to this update beyond the delay itself, and Bournemouth haven't put a fresh target out there. Until they do, the only certainty is that Leoni remains unavailable, and that his first real audition for the shirt keeps getting pushed further down the calendar.