Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has admitted Guglielmo Vicario’s serious ankle injury was a shock but has backed the squad to cope.
The goalkeeper fractured his ankle during Saturday’s remarkable 4-0 win at Manchester City and will not play again until the new year.
The Italy international has been a virtual ever-present since he signed in the summer of 2023, but Postecoglou will have to turn to back-up Fraser Forster for the foreseeable future.
Postecoglou said: “I guess a bit of a shock first of all because we saw he picked up an injury during the game and he was sore at half-time, but there was no doubt about him continuing.
“Post-game, again he was sore but you go ‘he’s played 60 minutes, we’ll tape him up and go again’.
“Externally now people realise it is testament to him as a person because he’s as tough as nails and the fact he played 60 minutes with a fractured ankle is quite outstanding.
“Once the shock wears off, you have to process he’ll be missing for a while but knowing him, he’ll push the limits of how long that is and knowing him you’ll get daily updates on his Instagram.
“It’s a blow but we’ve dealt with setbacks before and we’ll deal with this one.”
While Postecoglou was reluctant to put a timescale on Vicario’s recovery ahead of Thursday’s Europa League home tie with Roma, he acknowledges it would be “months” out rather than weeks for the former Empoli player.
The Australian offered his backing to 36-year-old Forster, who has made three appearances this season, and revealed the club would not look at the free-agent market.
“Irrespective of the injury it was a really strong performance from him (Vicario) but taking that into context, it is certainly one for the record books of this club in terms of outstanding performances,” Postecoglou said of Vicario.
“Fraser, I’ve known for a long time and he’s such a strong character within the group and ready to play.
“He’s already played in the Carabao Cup and a couple of European games. That’s the reason we’ve played him and why he’s in the squad. He’s ready to go.
“Brandon (Austin) is improving all the time and Alfie (Whiteman) has been at the club for a while. We’re happy with what we’ve got. I don’t think us signing a free agent now is going to help us.
“January, we’re always working towards the next window of what the best scenario is for us, and a lot of that will depend on where we’re at from the squad perspective and the game’s perspective. Just this injury doesn’t change any plans for January.”
Left-back Destiny Udogie also backed Forster and reflected on compatriot Vicario being able to play the whole second half at City injured.
Udogie added: “Honestly, I always knew Vicario was different. He is a great guy with a really strong mentality. For him to play 60 minutes with a fractured ankle says a lot about him and I really respect that.
“In the group, he’s a great leader, a great player, so he will be missed. I spoke to him the day after, I asked how it was going and he told me he had an operation and he will be out for a while. We are just waiting for him to be back.”
On Forster, Udogie said: “Fraser is a leader as well. He’s been playing football for a while, so he is going to help us a lot and show his quality every game.”
