Spurs injury news: Five free agents Tottenham could sign as Wilson Odobert ACL surgery confirmed

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that Wilson Odobert has suffered a ruptured ACL and will undergo surgery, raising the prospect of a high-profile free agent signing.

The French attacker suffered a nasty twist to his left knee in Tuesday's 2-1 Premier League loss to Newcastle United and stayed down for several minutes receiving treatment.

Odobert was at least able to walk off unaided as he was replaced by Mathys Tel, so there was some optimism that the former Burnley man had avoided a potential season-ending issue.

However, reports emerged on Wednesday stating that the winger had indeed torn his ACL, thus bringing his 2025-26 campaign to a close and also eliminating any slim hopes of a World Cup 2026 call-up.

Releasing an injury update on their social media channels, Spurs confirmed that Odobert will see a specialist next week before going under the knife and beginning his long road to rehabilitation.

"We can confirm that Wilson Odobert has sustained a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Wilson will see a specialist next week before undergoing surgery, and will then commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff," Spurs said in a statement.

How Spurs can replace Wilson Odobert as ACL injury confirmed

Odobert's 2025-26 campaign comes to a premature end with the 21-year-old boasting two goals and five assists from 33 appearances in all competitions, including 10 starts in the Premier League.

The managerless Lilywhites will have to cope without the France Under-21 international for remaining Premier League matches against the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea, as well as the remainder of their Champions League campaign - the last-16 draw takes place on February 27.

Thankfully for whoever replaces Thomas Frank, Tottenham already have two fit, ready-made replacements for the stricken Odobert in Tel and Randal Kolo Muani, the latter of whom can do a job out wide if necessary.

Richarlison may return from a thigh problem relatively soon too, or the new head coach could switch to a wing-back system, stationing Xavi Simons behind two strikers and having two of Djed Spence, Archie Gray, Souza and Pedro Porro - when he is fit again - out wide.

However, Odobert's long-term issue adds to a perpetual injury crisis for Tottenham, who are still missing James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies, Kevin Danso and the suspended Cristian Romero.

Could Tottenham sign any free agents after Wilson Odobert injury?

None of Maddison, Kulusevski or Kudus will be back in action anytime soon, so Tottenham's only alternatives aside from Tel and Kolo Muani are academy prospects or free agents.

However, there is one extremely high-profile and free agent raring to go in the form of Raheem Sterling, who would be a like-for-like replacement for Odobert and would also have the chance to stay in London.

Tottenham were previously linked with a move for the ex-Chelsea and Arsenal winger during the January transfer window, and while a move did not materialise then, Odobert's injury could very well change their plans.

Jesse Lingard, Ryan Kent, Nathan Redmond and former wonderkid Dele Alli are also unattached at this moment in time, but do not be surprised to see Sterling speculation ramp up in light of the latest news.