Roberto De Zerbi has hinted at a reshuffled Tottenham front line ahead of a crucial clash, as injuries continue to force his hand at a decisive stage of the season.
Tottenham Hotspur’s injury woes only worsened last time out in the club’s clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers, with both Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke picking up bad knocks.
It has since been confirmed that the pair will miss the rest of the season, following ACL injuries for Simons and a grade-two hamstring problem for Solanke.
These latest knocks now mean Tottenham’s list of absentees is back up to double figures after a brief respite in recent days.
Tottenham injury crisis forces Roberto De Zerbi selection call
A lot has been said about the club’s medical team and its handling of injuries in recent times. Former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara slammed the medical staff who treated Simons on the pitch for allowing the Dutchman to run off an ACL injury.
Spurs fans have also not reacted well to the on-field incident on Saturday and the wider injury crisis at the club, calling for the medical team to be sacked.
Speaking to the press ahead of the clash with Aston Villa, Roberto De Zerbi addressed the negativity around the squad and highlighted the attacking options still available, as reported via football.london.
He also seemed to hint at his first-choice front three without Solanke and Simons.
He said, “Listen, I want to be clear one time. The most important challenge now is to silence the voice inside of us, inside of the players, the staff, the fans. This voice produces negative thoughts and the voice says we are unlucky, we have too many injuries. We lost Xavi Simons and he was one of the most important players for us in the past two games.
“[People say] Our medical staff is not good enough, our stadium pitch is not good enough, our training pitch is not good enough. Winning two or three games in a row no because we had not won a game in 2026. It is all negative things and it is rubbish.
“I want to keep the focus on myself and the quality of my players. We go to play one of the best teams in the Premier League at the moment but if Tottenham win at Villa Park it is not a miracle. Maybe we lose but we have the quality to win this game. We have to be positive because we are lucky to work in a big club.
“If Xavi and Solanke are injured we can play with Kolo Muani, Tel, Richarlison. These are not bad players. We have Porro, Van de Ven, Udogie… etc.”
Spurs still have attacking options despite setbacks
Of course, Tottenham can still put out a strong XI this weekend, which will see the likes of Mathys Tel and Richarlison come into the side.
De Zerbi could also turn to the youth, and Spurs Web believes this could be a good opportunity for Tottenham to hand Tynan Thompson a first-team debut.
There is also the option for De Zerbi to change his tactical setup and opt for a narrow approach to accommodate all of his injuries.
It certainly is not ideal, but given the quality of the manager, one would expect him to come up with a solution in what is a time of crisis.