The news Tottenham supporters were dreading inevitably arrived on Sunday night, with Xavi Simons himself confirming that his season his over.
The severity of his knee injury sustained at Molineux on Saturday afternoon, one Spurs' medical team encouraged to run off, means Xavi will also miss the upcoming World Cup, and likely the remainder of 2026. He's torn his ACL.
The "heartbroken" Dutchman wrote on Instagram: "All I’ve wanted to do is fight for my team and now the ability to do that has been snatched away from me… along with the World Cup.
"It’ll take time to find peace with this, but I’ll continue to be the best teammate I can be. I have no doubt that together we’ll win this fight."
That "fight" is, of course, Tottenham's bid to stay in the Premier League. A combination of factors, including woeful injury luck, has resulted in our currently torrid fate, and Xavi's latest setback makes you wonder whether the Lilywhites are truly doomed.
Maddison's importance massive with Xavi out for season
It's been a difficult debut campaign for the former RB Leipzig playmaker, but he'd certainly shown promise and looked more than up for the scrap during the remaining weeks of the season.
His strike against Brighton & Hove Albion could've been the special moment that galvanised Roberto De Zerbi's side, but the Seagulls struck late on, delaying Spurs' first Premier League victory of 2026 by a week.
The 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers was arguably a net negative, having learned the extent of Xavi's injury. Now, De Zerbi, who's lost his captain and chief playmaker in the space of a couple of weeks, must be begging for James Maddison to soon be game-ready.
The Englishman, sidelined since last August due to a torn ACL, has been included in the previous two matchday squads, but hasn't been deemed fit enough to make a long-awaited return to action. He's been there for the vibes, and his presence has seemingly helped.
“No, he's not available yet. Especially this week, he felt pain, but not a so important problem," De Zerbi told reporters ahead of Saturday's game.
We can't afford to rush Maddison back and bugger his knee completely, but the situation has suddenly grown more desperate. Tottenham need a creator on the pitch if they're to secure enough points to stay in the division. Otherwise, De Zerbi will be leaning on the running of Conor Gallagher, or awkwardness of Lucas Bergvall in a No. 10 role.
Maddison won't be ready for a start this Sunday at Villa Park, where he starred in Lilywhite during Ange Postecoglou's first season, but perhaps he'll be grand to at least warm-up in the hope of taking to the field for the first time in 2025/26.
We're certainly going to need a Maddison-type the following Monday night against a Leeds United side that have proven tough to beat in 2026. That's when I think we'll catch a glimpse of Maddison in competitive action again.
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