With the mistakes piling up and the save percentage dwindling down to the worst record among current Premier League starters, Tottenham Hotspur supporters were not at all sad to read reports that starting goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is on the verge of a big move back to Serie A to start for expected champions Inter Milan as the Yann Sommer replacement.
The jubilation Tottenham fans thought they would feel about hearing of a Vicario exit has not exactly settled in. Beyond the mixed feelings about losing a key player and hearing about all these transfer rumors during a literal relegation fight, Spurs fans now see an alternative explanation behind how poorly Vic has been playing this season.
As Spurs themselves confirmed ahead of the game against Nottingham Forest, Guglielmo Vicario will have to undergo hernia surgery repair soon. He will be able to start against Forest and has been playing through the pain for a while now, but it will be too much for him. Vic has held out long enough and will need the surgery after the match, though there is hope he can return later this season. Antonin Kinsky will be the starter in the mean time.
Guglielmo Vicario was playing through a hernia
Now it all make sense why Vicario was playing so poorly. He must have been gritting his teeth through unbearable pain, and it is unimaginable to picture a starting Premier League goalkeeper gutting it out for potentially months with a hernia requiring surgery.
There has been a lot of criticism about Vicario's character for yelling at teammates after his own mistakes, but after hearing about his grit in playing through this hernia, it is hard not to have the fullest respect for the goalkeeper. All the questions about his dedication to Spurs have been answered, as you could not possibly be more dedicated than this.
If Spurs only sell Vicario to one of the best teams in European football for what they paid for him, which was a bargain 17 million pounds from Italian relegation level side Empoli, then that may not be such a great deal. Because if Vicario has only been this poor in large part due to the hernia, then he should be a lot better than this and worth more than what Spurs are rumored to get this summer out of Inter.
Now, Spur should be aiming for a better, younger goalkeeper like James Trafford if they can get him, but it is hard not to feel for Vicario after hearing this news and to have some second thoughts about a sale - or, at the very least, being so happy about one.