Tottenham Hotspur staff member blows whistle on Spurs' season-long issues

Spurs' 2025/26 has largely been a write-off given the expectations at the beginning of the campaign were to challenge for Europe under new boss Thomas Frank.

What began as a promising start, beating Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in August, has become a fight for Premier League survival and potentially a third managerial change before the end of the season.

Igor Tudor has replaced Frank in the dugout but the Croatian is still searching for a first league win. Spurs, meanwhile are in desperate need of victories given their precarious position in the Premier League standings - one point and one place above the drop zone.

Has Spurs goalkeeper Vicario played with an injury all season?

One of the long-running sagas of Spurs' campaign has been the perception and performances of first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. The Italian has come in and out of form, which culminated in the 29-year-old being dropped for Tottenham's Round of 16 first leg tie with Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

After 17 minutes and three goals conceded, though, his replacement, Antonin Kinsky, was hooked by Tudor and replaced by the man he was supposed to be replacing.

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A member of the Spurs' backroom staff appears to have offered a reason for Vicario's pendulum-like form this season, in a post shared on his personal Instagram account.

Goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte posted on his Instagram story a message to Vicario which suggested the Italian has been playing through an injury for the majority of the campaign.

"So much respect for what you went through for months to be there for the team every game @guglielmovicario", Otte wrote.

The 35-year-old former Liverpool goalkeeping coach joined Frank's staff last summer and has remained in north London under Tudor.

He has previously worked under Sean Dyche at Burnley, Daniel Farke and Adi Hutter at Borussia Monchengladbach and Gregg Berhalter in the United States setup.

As a player, Otte even turned out for non-league English side Blyth Spartans during something of a lower league journeyman career.

In FourFourTwo's opinion, it's not a great look that the club's goalkeeping coach is seemingly disseminating sensitive information about the club's key players, in the midst of a relegation battle.

If Vicario has been playing whilst injured this season, it perhaps explains some of his performances but it does not excuse the club's decision not to sign a match-ready back-up during the January transfer window.