Tottenham Hotspur confirmed on Monday night that Guglielmo Vicario (£5.0m) has undergone surgery for a fracture of his right ankle.
The Spurs goalkeeper suffered the injury during Saturday’s 4-0 win over Manchester City.
Vicario needed treatment in the first half of that victory but went on to finish the game, turning in a superb performance to seal an unlikely clean sheet.
Now, though, he’s gone under the knife and faces a spell on the sidelines.
HOW LONG WILL VICARIO BE OUT?
How long exactly is not yet known. But “months” seems to be the early guess, given that the ‘protective boot’ stage of recovery from an ankle fracture takes a minimum of six weeks.
Spurs say that Vicario will “be assessed by our medical staff to determine when he can return to training”.
We should get an update from Ange Postecoglou on Wednesday, ahead of Spurs’ UEFA Europa League clash with Roma.
WHO FILLS IN FOR VICARIO NOW?
Fraser Forster (£4.3m) looks set to come in for Vicario between the sticks.
Forster has started in three cup matches this season, the only fixtures that the Italian has failed to feature in.
The 36-year-old former Celtic, Southampton and Newcastle United goalkeeper has never started a league match under Postecoglou. Vicario was an ever-present starter in 2023/24.
The Lilywhites also have Alfie Whiteman (£4.0m) and Brandon Austin (£4.0m) on the books. They’ve made one senior Spurs start between them – and that was four years ago.
HOW MUCH WILL SPURS MISS VICARIO?
Above image via StatsBomb
Vicario hasn’t always been venerated during his time in north London.
But he’s turned in some good performances this season, culminating in an excellent showing in Gameweek 12.
Crucially, he suits Postecoglou’s style.
Defensive high line? Vicario is comfortable sweeping, ranked third for ‘goalkeeper aggressive distance’ (ie how far a ‘keeper comes off his line to perform defensive actions).
Possession-based team? Vicario ranks first among Premier League custodians for pass completion, with 91%.
Forster is neither of those things. He can’t even trump Vicario on the shotstopping front:
| Vicario’s expected goals prevented (xGP) | Forster’s expected goals prevented (xGP) | |
| 2024/25 | +2.90 | |
| 2023/24 | -0.30 | |
| 2022/23 | -2.60 | |
| 2021/22 | -1.30 | |
| 2020/21 | -1.20 |
StatsBomb, interestingly, have Vicario as +4.5 ‘goals saved above average’ – their equivalent of xGP – for 2023/24.
IS FORSTER WORTH BUYING IN FPL?
You do wonder how much Vicario’s injury will affect Spurs’ overall displays. Will they be forced to play deeper as a result of Forster’s questionable ability to sweep? How will Vicario’s distribution be missed by a side who rank second for possession in 2024/25? Will Pedro Porro‘s (£5.5m) clean sheets further dry up?
There are, arguably, superior goalkeeper picks in FPL for just £100k/£200k more. Bart Verbruggen (£4.5m), for instance, was ahead of Vicario anyway for projected points over the next six Gameweeks. He could even be a set-and-forget selection until a springtime Wildcard:
But if it’s a no-expense-spent ‘keeper you’re after, Forster is – you’d think – guaranteed starts until at least Gameweek 19.
There’s a rather convenient rotation pairing with Lukasz Fabianski (£4.1m) to be had, too, which goes right through to the end of the season. Given that Vicario could theoretically be back in a couple of months, or Spurs could swoop for a replacement in the transfer market, we’ve stopped the below lookahead at the end of January:
4 hours, 4 mins agoCheap goalkeeper rotation pair - might have been interested if I still had Haaland.