Roberto De Zerbi‘s Tottenham Hotspur had been hit with a double blow of their battle to keep away from a relegation from the Premier League on Saturday.
Not solely did West Ham United’s last-gasp winner in opposition to Everton imply that the Lilywhites stay within the backside three and haven’t closed any hole to seventeenth, however in addition they misplaced Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke to accidents.
Each gamers suffered harm points within the 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, as Solanke got here off with a muscular harm within the fortieth minute of the sport.
After the match, De Zerbi claimed that it was “not an enormous downside” for the England worldwide, however couldn’t reveal how lengthy the striker might be out of motion for.
Xavi, in the meantime, needed to be stretchered off the pitch within the second half with a knee harm and Spurs are actually sweating on his availability for the remainder of this season.
What Roberto De Zerbi has stated about Xavi Simons harm for Spurs
Only a week after the Dutchman scored a shocking aim in opposition to Brighton & Hove Albion, the £52m signing from RB Leipzig might be going through a spell on the sidelines.
After the match, De Zerbi spoke to the media in regards to the Netherlands worldwide’s scenario and was unable to offer a lot away as a result of it had solely simply occurred.
| 25/26 Premier League | Xavi Simons |
|---|---|
| Appearances | 28 |
| xG | 3.15 |
| Targets | 2 |
| Huge probabilities created | 7 |
| xA | 3.86 |
| Assists | 5 |
Xavi should get scanned to evaluate the severity of the harm and it stays to be seen whether or not or not he’ll have the ability to play a component within the final 4 video games of the relegation battle.
If the Dutch attacker is dominated out for a time period, De Zerbi does have a participant at his disposal who may slot in as the proper alternative for him.
The Spurs star who ought to exchange Xavi Simons
The Italian head coach may unleash his personal model of Luka Modric, who was a technical wizard for the Lilywhites, by changing Xavi with a star who’s but to make an look this season.
James Maddison has been an unused substitute for the previous two video games after getting back from an ACL harm, and this newest blow may quick monitor his return to the workforce.
So long as the medical workforce deem that it’s secure sufficient to take action, De Zerbi ought to unleash the England worldwide in Xavi’s place coming in off the left flank within the 4-2-3-1 formation.
| 24/25 PL | Maddison per 90 | Rank vs AMs |
|---|---|---|
| xG | 0.29 | Prime 4% |
| Targets | 0.45 | Prime 3% |
| xA | 0.29 | Prime 4% |
| Possibilities created | 2.03 | Prime 10% |
| Huge probabilities created | 0.30 | Prime 22% |
| Assists | 0.35 | Prime 4% |
Within the 2024/25 Premier League marketing campaign, Maddison proved his high quality on the prime finish of the pitch with a return of 9 targets and 7 assists in 21 begins for Ange Postecoglou.
The previous Leicester and Norwich star by no means had the possibility to play below Thomas Frank or Igor Tudor, due to his ACL harm, however he might have returned in time to fireside De Zerbi’s workforce to security.
Like Modric, Maddison is a technically good attacking or central midfield participant who may be the heartbeat of the workforce in possession, continuously trying to get on the ball to make issues occur on the prime finish of the pitch.
The Croatian star registered 24 assists in 160 video games for the membership throughout his time in North London, while Maddison has assisted 21 targets in 75 matches for Spurs.
Tottenham’s English playmaker has the artistic high quality to be a Modric-esque participant for De Zerbi, and his high quality within the closing third may fireplace Spurs to the factors they should keep away from the drop.
No present Spurs midfielder has scored greater than 4 targets or delivered greater than 5 assists, while Maddison registered 9 targets and 7 assists within the division final time period, which means that the newly-fit star can be an enormous improve on the supervisor’s present choices.
If the 29-year-old expertise is offered to start out video games and play significant minutes within the coming weeks, De Zerbi should unleash him as Xavi’s alternative.
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