Tottenham have been handed two very different Xavi Simons timelines in the same morning — and Roberto De Zerbi will have to plan for the worse one. Dutch reporting insists the playmaker will not really return until February, even as word from the Spurs camp describes a recovery moving at pace.
Simons has not kicked a ball in anger since 25 April, when he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament 63 minutes into the Premier League match at Wolves. The surgery that followed ended his season, cost him a place at the summer World Cup, and has kept him out of Tottenham's entire new campaign so far — a campaign that began with a ten-player summer overhaul built, in part, around his creativity.
The February Warning From The Netherlands
The colder assessment comes from De Telegraaf journalist Valentijn Driessen, speaking on the Kick-Off podcast. As Sports Mole relayed, Driessen dismissed talk of an imminent comeback in blunt terms, saying Simons "won't really return until February" and that it is "going to take a while."
That verdict landed just as Spurs supporters were daring to hope. Simons recently shared an Instagram story showing a pair of football boots, the kind of small tease that injured stars know will set a fanbase talking. On the Dutch reading, the boots mean far less than the calendar.
There is, at least, encouragement from his national team. Netherlands head coach Xavi Hernandez confirmed during the international break that he has been in touch with his namesake and is counting on him for the future — a reminder that, at 23, Simons' career story is paused rather than derailed.
Why Spurs Still Have Reason For Optimism
The picture from London is noticeably warmer. According to football.london, Simons is recovering at speed and has been working on the grass, in his boots, for the past two weeks. The standard nine-month timeline for an ACL injury points to late January, which would beat the February forecast — although the club will not rush a player whose game is built on sharp turns and changes of direction.
Simons is not expected to join the squad's bonding trip to Marbella as his rehabilitation continues, but he was with the group at Old Trafford on Saturday, travelling alongside Dejan Kulusevski, Pedro Porro and Andy Robertson to support the team in the 1-1 draw with Manchester United. De Zerbi has kept him close throughout — earlier this season the Italian even named Simons in his Premier League squad ahead of the fit Richarlison, a pointed message about how central the Dutchman remains to his plans.
He has also used the months productively. As talkSPORT reported last week, Simons has been accepted onto Harvard Business School's Crossover Into Business Program, which he will complete online during his recovery — an unusually constructive use of enforced time off.
What It Means For Tottenham
The practical consequence is stark: Spurs must navigate the festive schedule, the most congested stretch of their season, without their most inventive midfielder. With 41 appearances and 15 goals since arriving from RB Leipzig in 2025, Simons is not a player De Zerbi's system replaces like for like.
Kulusevski's own return in the coming weeks softens the blow, and the January window now carries an obvious question — do Spurs buy short-term creativity, or hold their nerve and wait for their playmaker? A February return would still give Simons the run-in to influence the season's decisive months, but only if Tottenham are still in the fights that matter by then.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Tottenham should plan for February and treat anything earlier as a bonus. ACL comebacks are where seasons — and careers — are protected or gambled away, and a 23-year-old with Simons' ceiling is worth patience. The boots on Instagram are a nice story; the medical timeline is the real one. If De Zerbi's side are still in touch when their playmaker returns, that comeback could feel like the best January signing nobody had to pay for. Spurs fans, would you rather wait for a fully fit Simons in February or push for a return in January?
