Xavi Simons ruled out until 2027 with knee injury as Spurs star suffers World Cup heartbreak

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Xavi Simons has said he is "heartbroken" after his dream of playing for the Netherlands at the World Cup was taken away from him by a serious knee injury. Simons was stretchered off during Tottenham's 1-0 win over Wolves on Saturday and it has now been confirmed that he has an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The midfielder fell to the ground in agony after appearing to twist his knee while chasing the ball near the byline. He is expected to be sidelined for at least eight months. Simons wrote an emotional post on Sunday night to explain the situation to his followers, while deleting all other Instagram posts.

"They say life can be cruel and today it feels that way," he wrote on Instagram . "My season has come to an abrupt end and I’m just trying to process it. Honestly, I’m heartbroken. None of it makes sense.

"All I’ve wanted to do is fight for my team and now the ability to do that has been snatched away from me… along with the World Cup. Representing my country this summer…just gone. It’ll take time to find peace with this, but I’ll continue to be the best teammate I can be. I have no doubt that together we’ll win this fight.

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"I’ll walk this path now, guided by faith, with strength, with resilience, with belief, as I count down the days to getting back out there. Be patient with me."

Tottenham said in a statement: "We can confirm that Xavi Simons has ruptured the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his right knee. The 23-year-old suffered the injury during the second half of our Premier League fixture at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.

"Xavi will undergo surgery in the coming weeks and, following that, will then begin his rehabilitation with our medical team. Everyone at Tottenham Hotspur sends Xavi our love and support - we will be with him every step of the way."

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Simons has five goals and six assists in 41 games for Tottenham since joining the club in a £51million transfer from RB Leipzig in the summer. He would have been central to Roberto De Zerbi's plans as Spurs desperately try to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

Despite breaking their winless streak at Molineux on Saturday, thanks to Joao Palhinha's late goal from a corner, Spurs remain in the relegation zone after West Ham's late winner against Everton . Tottenham travel to Aston Villa on Sunday before facing Leeds on May 11.

De Zerbi discussed how he will adapt without Simons during his post-match press conference on the weekend. "We can play with Mathys Tel on the left. [Randal] Kolo Muani on the right," he said.

"Souza on the right. [Lucas] Bergvall on the left. We have to create. I don’t want to change too much (like) three defenders or four defenders, I don’t want to put more confusion on the players, especially this season because they changed a lot of tactical disposition. I want to be clear and simple but for your question, we need to stay strong in the head and positive in ourselves."

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