Knee injury a few weeks before the World Cup?
Big worries about ex-Bundesliga professional
April 26, 2026 – 7:16 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
In a sprint, Tottenham’s Xavi Simons wants to prevail against Wolverhampton’s Hugo Bueno. However, that goes wrong and the Dutchman ends up writhing on the ground.
Tottenham’s Xavi Simons apparently injured his knee during Tottenham’s Premier League win against Wolverhampton Wanderers (1-0). The Dutch international started dribbling with opponent Hugo Bueno in the 57th minute of the game and could only be stopped with a foul.
Although it wasn’t a malicious foul, Bueno was subsequently shown a yellow card. However, it was much worse for Xavi, who immediately lay there with his face contorted in pain and holding his right knee.
In the replay it was clear that Xavi had his right knee firmly on the ground in preparation for a hook or twist. However, Bueno was too fast, could no longer react and touched the leg. Afterwards, an unfortunate rotation of the knee occurred.
Xavi was then treated for several minutes and even tried again. A few moments later, however, the 23-year-old couldn’t continue. He was transported from the field.
It was an important victory for Tottenham in the relegation battle. With the three points, Spurs stay in touch with West Ham in the first non-relegation spot and are two points behind. However, this may have come at a bitter price.
How serious the injury is is not yet known. Immediately after the final whistle, Tottenham coach Roberto De Zerbi said on the club’s website about his offensive player’s injury: “With Xavi it’s about the knee, and if the knee is affected, the situation is much more difficult.”
Shortly later, however, he also expressed some hope: “Xavi was in pain, but I spoke to him two minutes ago and he is better than he was right after he got the injury.” Now not only Tottenham will be worried about Xavi, but also the Dutch national team around coach Ronald Koeman. The offensive player should play successfully at the World Cup in the summer. An injury would be a major setback for the “Elftal”.
