Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has undergone surgery on an ankle fracture and faces a spell on the sidelines, the Lilywhites have confirmed.
The 28-year-old started and kept a clean sheet in the weekend's shock 4-0 victory over Manchester City, where he completed the full 90 minutes despite appearing to pick up an injury early on.
However, Spurs have now revealed that Vicario's issue was a severe one, as the former Empoli and Venezia goalkeeper sustained a fracture to his ankle and underwent an operation on Monday.
"We can confirm that Guglielmo Vicario has today undergone surgery for a fracture of his right ankle," Tottenham said on X. "Guglielmo will be assessed by our medical staff to determine when he can return to training. We're all behind you, Vic 🤍."
Spurs did not specify how long Vicario would be sidelined for, but Fraser Forster will be expected to guard the sticks for at least several weeks as Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman fight for temporary number two duties.
Following confirmation of Vicario's operation, the goalkeeper took to Instagram, sharing a photo of him flexing his arms in a hospital bed and revealing that he played an hour of the win over Man City with his broken ankle.
"Sometimes football gives you its highs, and sometimes it challenges you in ways you don't expect. I played 60 minutes at the Etihad with a broken ankle, giving absolutely everything I had for the team. Unfortunately there was no way around this one.. I needed surgery," Vicario wrote.
Vicario to miss Chelsea, Arsenal matches?
"I'm disappointed I won't be able to help the team for a while. A massive thank you to the doctors and the staff. The operation went well, and from tomorrow I'll be working hard to come back stronger, fitter, and ready to give my all for you again.
"Thank you to the Spurs fans for all the love. See you soon on the pitch. 💪⚽️ @spursofficial 🤍".
Until either the club or Ange Postecoglou sheds more light on Vicario's problem, it is unclear how many games the goalkeeper will be forced to sit out, but meetings with Chelsea and Liverpool on December 8 and 22 respectively will certainly come too soon for him to return.
Tottenham's second North London derby of the season against Arsenal takes place on January 15, and it is difficult to envisage the Italian being fit for the visit of the Gunners too.
Vicario's ankle fracture is the first severe injury that the 28-year-old has suffered during his time at Tottenham, whom he has been a key figure for since his £15.5m arrival from Empoli in 2023.
The Italy international has kept 12 clean sheets in 55 appearances for the Lilywhites, including four shut-outs from 15 matches across all competitions in the 2024-25 campaign.
What other injury concerns do Tottenham have?
© Imago
Vicario enters a relatively well-stocked Tottenham infirmary, which also houses a couple of other fundamental defensive figures in Cristian Romero (toe) and Micky van de Ven (hamstring).
Postecoglou is keeping his fingers crossed that Romero will be fit to take on Fulham in next Sunday's London derby, though, but Van de Ven is unlikely to return until the middle of next month.
Richarlison is also unlikely to be back from his own thigh concern until the New Year, while Wilson Odobert is on the recovery trail from hamstring surgery and faces weeks/months out of action.
Alongside a quintet of injury worries, Mikey Moore has been laid low by a severe virus in recent weeks, and Rodrigo Bentancur is serving a seven-match domestic ban for an offensive comment about Son Heung-min and South Koreans.
However, Bentancur will be fine to face Roma in the Europa League on Thursday, where Forster is set to commence a lengthy run of games in goal.
