Xavi Simons is confident he will return stronger than ever after suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee during Tottenham Hotspur's 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Netherlands international was forced off midway through the second half of Saturday's clash at Molineux and faces a lengthy spell on the sidelines, with Simons not expected to feature again until next year.

He is due to have surgery in the coming weeks, once the swelling around the knee joint has sufficiently subsided. An extensive rehabilitation programme will then follow, and provided there are no further complications, Simons could make his comeback before the end of February - representing a ten-month recovery period in total.

Simons, 23, has shared a video of himself undergoing treatment on his official Snapchat account, captioning the clip: "Rest, patience, guidance, peace! Everything happens for a reason! We will be back stronger than ever, don't doubt it!"

The Dutch midfielder has posted footage appearing to show him receiving vibration therapy on his right leg. Simons is also working on his left leg in the gym while keeping the injured limb elevated and focusing on his upper body.

Simons has already offered considerable insight into his recovery via his social media channels since sustaining the injury, also adding a lengthy caption to an Instagram post on Sunday. It reads: "They say life can be cruel, and today it feels that way.

"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.

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"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."

Roberto De Zerbi addressed how Spurs intend to cope without Simons for the rest of the campaign following their victory against Wolves. He said: "We can play with Mathys Tel on the left, (Randal) Kolo Muani on the right, 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. We need to stay strong in the head and positive in ourselves."