Guglielmo Vicario undergoes ankle surgery | OneFootball

This Monday, the 25th of November, it has been officially confirmed that Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has undergone ankle surgery, having picked up an injury in the win over Manchester City at the Etihad on Saturday evening.

Tottenham to be without their goalkeeper for quite a while

The goalkeeper even confirmed himself that he played on with the injury for an hour at the Etihad, a real soldier dedicated to the cause. It was actually an incredible performance from Spurs’ number one, perhaps his best so far in his time at the club – most certainly his best since those run of games at the beginning of last season.

There is no doubt at all that this has soured the mood from Saturday’s win. The fanbase had been the most jubilant you have seen in a long, long time – but now severe fear and doubt has settled in as a result of this injury.

It is hard to know exactly when the 28-year old will return to the pitch, but you would be amazed if it is before January – at the earliest. Of course, from then, Spurs could dip into the transfer market for a goalkeeper.

According to the rules – from what we believe – free agents can be registered, so long as there are not 25 players already registered. Spurs registered 23 players for this season (U21s don’t have to be registered), so there are two spots available.

From there, the issue becomes a case of, if a goalkeeper does not have a club midway through a season, there is often a reason for that, with all due respect. When you look at goalkeepers that are out of contract, it does check out. The best goalkeeper currently without a club is Keylor Navas, formerly of Real Madrid and Paris Saint Germain, who briefly played in the Premier League with Nottingham Forest in the 22/23 season.

Should the free agent market not be an avenue the club explore, you would assume that Fraser Forster will be the one between the sticks. The big man has had a great career with Southampton and Celtic, but he is now 36-years old. Whilst goalkeepers can, and often do, play beyond that age, the poor guy does dive in slow motion these days.

Really is sod’s law that this injury has come about just as Vicario puts in his best performance of the season. The fact he did it whilst injured for two thirds of the game is just amazing. There is never a good time to get an injury, but some instances are worse than others – and that certainly applies here.