FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur - Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain - November 23, 2024 Tottenham Hotspur's Guglielmo Vicario celebrates after Brennan Johnson scored their fourth goal Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith/File Photo
(Reuters) - Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou praised Guglielmo Vicario for playing with a broken ankle in their 4-0 win over Manchester City before he underwent surgery but said on Wednesday that he had full faith in Fraser Forster stepping up.
Vicario completed the full 90 minutes of the game away at City where they recorded a famous win but the 28-year-old Italian is now set to be sidelined for a few months as Spurs enter the busiest period in the calendar.
Postecoglou said losing Vicario to injury is a big blow because he was having an "outstanding season" while he was growing as a leader in the squad.
"It's not going to be weeks, it's going to be months... With surgery, there are certain timelines," Postecoglou told reporters ahead of Thursday's Europa League game against AS Roma.
"I don't like giving timelines so early in the process on something like that because it puts undue pressures on the player and also, maybe some expectations. I think once we get the past the rehab stage, we will have a clearer idea.
"Externally, people now realise and it is a testament to him. He's as tough as nails, as tough as they come. The fact he played at that level for 60 odd minutes with a fractured ankle was quite outstanding."
Forster, 36, has been Spurs' backup goalkeeper since 2022 and has played only three times this season -- in the Europa League and League Cup -- but Postecoglou backed him to fill in for Vicario while ruling out signing a free agent.
"That's why he's here. Fraser played Carabao (League) Cup, he's played a couple of European games and that's the reason we played him, it's the reason we have him in the squad. He's ready to go," he said.
"I don't think us signing a free agent now helps us. Me naming Fraser in the Europa League squad really looks like a radical decision now, doesn't it?"
Spurs are seventh in the Europa League standings after four games while Roma are 20th.
Although Postecoglou conceded that his side have had "flat spots" in some games this season, they have also played really well, as evidenced by the win over City.
"I don't discount the football we have played... We've played some outstanding football. For me, it is about progress," he said.
"I keep saying that we're a better side than we were last year and we want to keep improving. If we keep improving, the areas where there are gaps, we will slowly overcome."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
