Guglielmo Vicario is expected to miss key Tottenham games against Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United after suffering a serious ankle injury in the 4-0 win over Manchester City. On Monday evening, a club statement confirmed the goalkeeper had undergone an operation to fix a fracture in his ankle.
Optimism and happiness was high in north London following the statement victory at Etihad Stadium, but Ange Postecoglou has been dealt a hammer blow in the wake of Vicario's issue. Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Richarlison are among those already missing through injury with the Italy international now joining that group.
Rodrigo Bentancur will also not feature in Premier League or Carabao Cup action until late December having been handed a seven-match ban by the FA. Back onto the goalkeeper predicament, Fraser Forster now looks set to take on the role and that could be the case until February, judging by a huge return timeline claim on social media.
On X, just after Spurs confirmed his surgery, @physioscout wrote: "Vicario suffered an ankle injury in the first half of the Spurs vs. Man City match. The club has confirmed that Vicario has sustained a fractured ankle and he has now undergone surgery.
"The exact nature of the surgery and location of the fracture is unknown, but since it required surgery, he'll likely be out for multiple weeks/couple months. Recovery Time: Typical Ankle Fracture: 6-10 weeks No indication that it'd take longer than 10 weeks."
The best-case scenario would be Vicario returning to the starting XI for the Premier League clash at home to Newcastle on January 4, 2025, just over six weeks on from surgery. However his recovery may not go perfectly to plan and therefore he might not feature until a month later for the trip to Brentford in early February.
If Vicario returns towards the earlier stages of his estimated recovery period, he may only miss Premier League games against Fulham, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Southampton, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Wolves while also being absent for Europa League ties with AS Roma and Rangers.
He would also remain absent for the Carabao Cup quarter-final at home to Man United in December with that bringing the total to 10 games. However a longer period out means he could be forced to miss games against Newcastle, Arsenal and Leicester along with European matches against Hoffenheim and Elfsborg.
The worst-case scenario therefore, would be Vicario being out injured for a staggering 15 games, based on the current dates pencilled in for fixtures. However, it is likely that changes slightly depending on their Carabao Cup progression and the FA Cup which begins for Premier League clubs in early January.