Netherlands midfielder Xavi Simons will miss the World Cup as well as relegation-threatened Tottenham 's final Premier League games of the season after rupturing the ACL in his right knee.
In an emotional post on Instagram, the 23-year-old Simons — one of the best Dutch players at the European Championship in 2024 — said he is “heartbroken” and that “none of it makes sense.”
Simons screamed in pain and grabbed his knee following a challenge by Wolverhampton defender Hugo Bueno in the second half of Tottenham's 1-0 win on Saturday that renewed the team's hopes of staying in the top flight. He was carried off on a stretcher.
On Monday, Tottenham confirmed Simons ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo surgery “in the coming weeks.”
“Everyone at Tottenham Hotspur sends Xavi our love and support — we will be with him every step of the way,” the club said.
In his Instagram post, Simons wrote “my season has come to an abrupt end and I’m just trying to process it.”
“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,” he wrote. “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.”
Tottenham remained in the relegation zone, in third-to-last place and two points from safety, despite its first league win in 2026, and is in big danger of losing its top-flight status for the first time since the late 1970s. Tottenham has four games left this season.
Simons, who joined from Leipzig for 60 million euros ($70 million) in the offseason, hasn't been a regular starter for Spurs but has been in the lineup in recent matches under newly hired manager Roberto De Zerbi.
He helped the Dutch reach the semifinals at Euro 2024 and was expected to be key for the team at the World Cup, where they're in a group with Sweden, Tunisia and Japan
Their first match is against Japan on June 14.
“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,” Simons wrote. “Be patient with me.”
Simons joins France striker Hugo Ekitike (Achilles) in being ruled out of the World Cup after sustaining a late-season injury.
There are also concerns over the fitness of Spain winger Lamine Yamal, Egypt star Mohamed Salah and Brazil forward Estevao ahead of the tournament.
Yamal was ruled out for the rest of the club season last week after sustaining a muscle injury in his left leg while converting a penalty for Barcelona in a La Liga match. Barca said its medical staff “foresee that (Yamal) will be available for the World Cup.”
Salah picked up a suspected hamstring injury playing for Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday. Liverpool manager Arne Slot said he did not know if Salah would play again this season.
Estevao will miss the rest of Chelsea's season with a hamstring injury and is a doubt for the World Cup.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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