Tottenham Hotspur kept their survival hopes alive with three points against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday, but not even their first league win of 2026 could be celebrated without another setback.
On the hour mark, Xavi Simons was challenged by Wolves full-back Hugo Bueno near the touchline and went tumbling off the pitch. The Netherlands international immediately reached for his right knee, and team-mates Mathys Tel and Micky van de Ven, as well as several Wolves defenders, rushed to him as he lay down in agony, awaiting treatment.
After being seen by Tottenham’s medical staff, he stood up and conducted several fitness tests, but dropped to the floor and was taken off on a stretcher. On Monday morning, Tottenham confirmed that Xavi has sustained an injury to his right anterior cruciate ligament, ruling him out for the rest of the season, the World Cup, and likely the entirety of 2026.
He is one of 11 senior first-team players currently unavailable to Spurs head coach Roberto De Zerbi. Here, The Athletic looks at who De Zerbi can hope to count on for this Sunday’s clash against Aston Villa.
Goalkeepers
De Zerbi has been unable to call upon his compatriot Guglielmo Vicario in his three matches in charge, with the goalkeeper recovering from a minor hernia operation performed during the March international break.
In the meantime, Antonin Kinsky has shone between the sticks, impressing with his distribution and shot-stopping ability, including a crucial diving save in the ninth minute of stoppage time from a Joao Gomes free kick.
Kinsky is a more natural fit for De Zerbi’s playing style, and he appears to have bounced back from his horror 18-minute outing against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the round of 16, so he may keep his place, even if Vicario is back in time for Sunday.
However, De Zerbi said in his pre-match press conference on Friday that he hopes Vicario can return to training on Monday (today) and that he was a “very important player for us”, suggesting he may be in line to return straight to the starting XI.
Brandon Austin, 27, who has made just one league appearance in English football, is Tottenham’s third-choice goalkeeper.
Defenders
Ahead of Kinsky, Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso look set to keep their place in central defence. After an injury-hit season last term, Van de Ven has been one of the few positive stories on that front in 2025-26, starting 31 of Tottenham’s 34 league matches.
Danso has typically been a reliable partner, with the Austria international often filling in for club captain Cristian Romero, who has missed six matches through suspension. He is ruled out for the remainder of this season, having suffered a tear to his medial collateral ligament in his right knee in the 1-0 defeat to Sunderland on April 12.
Radu Dragusin is Tottenham’s only other senior central defender to call upon in reserve.
Pedro Porro and Djed Spence provide depth at right-back, though Spence may be required again to cover for Destiny Udogie on the left, after the Italian did not travel on Sunday with a muscle injury. De Zerbi said he “hopes (he) can be available next week at Villa Park”, suggesting he could be in the frame to return, but Udogie has struggled throughout the season with persistent minor muscle injuries, starting just 10 league games.
If he does not return in time, Spence will likely be backed up by Brazilian left-back Souza, who was signed in January from Santos. The 19-year-old has featured four times for Spurs, starting twice.
Ben Davies, who can cover at left-back and central defence, may not feature again this season, having undergone surgery on his left ankle in January. The 100-cap Wales international, who has featured 245 times for Tottenham in the league and is the club’s longest-serving player, is out of contract in the summer.
Midfielders
De Zerbi will be encouraged by Rodrigo Bentancur, who returned from three months on the sidelines against Brighton and Hove Albion last week and has performed well at the base of midfield since.
Palhinha, Yves Bissouma, Conor Gallagher, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray are all fit and available to partner him in a midfield double pivot, or play slightly further forward in the No 10 position. While Pape Matar Sarr‘s shoulder injury prevents De Zerbi from having a full complement of central midfielders, the problem lies ahead and around them.
Tottenham have desperately lacked creativity all season, and that has taken a further hit with Xavi’s injury. Like Tudor and Frank, De Zerbi has been unable to field Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, though the latter has made De Zerbi’s two most recent matchday squads for his “important” influence on the dressing room. Kulusevski has not featured at all this season after a complicated rehabilitation from an injury to his right patella sustained last May, and Maddison is not yet available despite being named in those squads.
Maddison’s potential return before the end of the season may provide a morale boost, but he has not played a competitive match since last April’s 5-1 defeat to Liverpool and would surely take some time to reach match fitness and rhythm.
Wingers
Creativity is not flowing from the wings either, where the injury crisis is somehow even deeper. Mohammed Kudus, a player De Zerbi was counting on to provide attacking inspiration when he took the job, is also out for the remainder of the season after suffering a setback in his recovery from a quad injury sustained in January. He was initially forecast to return after the March international break, but is now in a race against time to be fit for Ghana at the World Cup following a relapse.
He joins Wilson Odobert in the treatment room, who may not feature again in 2026 after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in the 2-1 home loss to Newcastle United in February.
It leaves Randal Kolo Muani and Mathys Tel, who replaced his countryman at half-time at Molineux, as his only senior wide options, though Kolo Muani is considered a natural No 9. De Zerbi said he also considers Bergvall as an option from the left and Souza from the right.
Promising 18-year-old Tynan Thompson could be promoted to the senior squad to make his first-team debut, after scoring for Tottenham’s under-21 side in a 1-0 win over Leicester City in the Premier League 2 on Friday night. Richarlison has also played on the left side of attack for Tottenham, Everton and Watford in the Premier League.
Strikers
However, Richarlison may be needed to lead the line. Dominic Solanke was the other injury casualty of the win against Wolves, with the England striker replaced by the Brazilian in the 40th minute.
After the game, De Zerbi said, “It is not a big problem,” but he does not know how many games they will miss him for.
Solanke missed the first half of the season with an ankle injury and made a promising return, scoring twice in the 2-2 home draw with Manchester City on February 1, his second start of the season. He has scored just once since, the opener in the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace last month.
Until he is available again, Richarlison is the most likely candidate to lead the line for De Zerbi. The Brazilian is Tottenham’s top scorer this season with nine league goals. Tottenham academy product Will Lankshear has scored 11 goals for Oxford United in the Championship, but could not save them from relegation to League One. Oxford’s season ends on Saturday, but neither he nor fellow Oxford loanee Jamie Donley can reinforce Spurs’ attack, as loanees cannot play in the remaining matches for their parent club, even after their loanee club’s season ends.
Tel and Kolo Muani will provide cover at the point of attack for a depleted squad stretched even thinner for the season’s climax.