Netherlands attacking midfielder Simons has been ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) against Wolves – and joined a lengthy Spurs injury list.

Striker Dominic Solanke also went off at Molineux with a hamstring injury, while goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario will also be unavailable against Villa – with Ben Davies, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and Cristian Romero among long-term absentees.

“I want to keep the focus on ourselves and the quality of my players,” De Zerbi said.

“We go to play against one of the best teams in this moment Premier League, but if Tottenham win at Villa Park it’s not a miracle. Maybe we lose but we have the quality to win this game. It’s not a miracle. We have to be positive.

“If Xavi and Solanke are injured we can play with [Randal] Kolo Muani, [Mathys] Tel, Richarlison… they are different but very good players. All these things – I don’t have too much time to hear these things.

“We are good enough to win the games and to stay up and then we will see because it’s the unique way. The way I know is to work hard, give my best, to trust in my idea of the players, their confidence and to be realistic.”

However, one player close to returning from a long-term injury is James Maddison.

The England playmaker has not featured this season because of an ACL injury but was named on the bench against both Brighton and Wolves.

“I would like to play with Maddison because he is a special player but we have to consider physical condition, a lot of things. But I think he can be important in the next three games,” De Zerbi said.