Tottenham say Xavi Simons has ruptured his ACL and will undergo surgery after the attacking midfielder ruled himself out for the rest of the season and the World Cup in a major blow to Spurs' survival hopes.
Netherlands playmaker Simons went down clutching his right knee in the 58th minute of Saturday's 1-0 win at Wolves, which earned Spurs a first Premier League victory of 2026.
After Simons fell to the floor following a collision with Wolves defender Hugo Bueno, the 23-year-old attempted to run off the injury but collapsed in front of Tottenham's medical staff and subsequently left Molineux on a stretcher.
The absence of £52m Simons is just the latest injury blow for Spurs, who sit two points adrift of safety with four games to go, after seeing summer-signing Mohammed Kudus and captain Cristian Romero ruled for the rest of the season in the first month of De Zerbi's time in charge.
Spurs confirmed the severity of Simons' injury on Monday morning and said he "will undergo surgery in the coming weeks" before beginning his rehabilitation with the club's medical team.
Simons had revealed in a post on Instagram on Sunday evening that he would not be fit enough to feature in Spurs' final four league games of the season or this summer's World Cup for Netherlands.
"They say life can be cruel and today it feels that way. My season has come to an abrupt end and I'm just trying to process it," the former Paris Saint-Germain player said.
"Honestly, I'm heartbroken. None of it makes sense.
"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."
Simons had endured a frustrating debut campaign in England, only showing flashes of his class under Thomas Frank before being bizarrely frozen out by Igor Tudor, but looked set for a key role with De Zerbi, especially after a wonder strike in a 2-2 home draw with Brighton.
Instead, Simons can play no part in Spurs' desperate efforts to overturn a two-point deficit to 17th-placed West Ham in order to avoid their first relegation in 49 years.
Simons added: "It'll take some time to find peace with this but I'll continue to be the best team-mate I can be. I have no doubt that together we'll win this fight.
"I'll walk this path now, guided by faith, with strength, with resilience, with belief as I count down the days to getting back out there. Be patient with me."
Ex-Spurs boss Tim Sherwood on Your Site FC:
"Injuries have derailed Tottenham all season, and it can't be bad luck.
"They need to review and [have] a good look at what's happening to their players because we can all get injured from contact, but a lot of these injuries are not contact.
"They are twists and soft tissue injuries. And ultimately, it looks like they might have to pay the price for it, the ultimate price, which is relegation.
"If you're a manager, you're going in, your players - some of your best players - keep getting injured and you can't get them back to fitness.
"Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, it's been a hell of a long time since they've been injured. So they're going to need a good look at that in the summer."
Your Site News reporter Michael Bridge on Your Site FC:
"If Tottenham do get relegated, they could still have James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Xavi Simons, three very big names, still at the club in the Championship.
"That's a ruptured ACL for Simons; you can forget this year. That's done.
"So with his wages and everything, you've got to look at the financial side of it as well. I'm sorry to say, but [Spurs' persistent injury issues] need to be looked at. This is ridiculous now.
"When I saw [Simons' injury], I think, 'why is he walking? Why are [the medical team] getting him to walk it off?' I'm just asking questions out loud here.
"It looked like a bad one when you see it and it is the worst possible one."
Your Site News' Michael Bridge:
"We forget how young he [Simons] is and how difficult it is to move to the Premier League. So it's been a bit of an up and down first season for him.
"He's been in the side, out of the side, he showed more glimpses when he was playing in the Champions League for Spurs this season.
"But, over the last few weeks, under Roberto De Zerbi, he's really coming into his own. He scored that absolutely stunning goal against Brighton.
"It really was a brilliant goal out of nothing. And this is what Spurs are going to miss over the next few games, just that individual bit of brilliance which he's capable of.
"The players, they've got to step up, but they don't really have that kind of creativity in the side, so he's going to have to mix it and match it a bit more now.
"He hasn't got many to call back from the bench, so it's going to be a difficult few weeks. That injury list is just absolutely ridiculous."
