Tottenham have been handed the best-case scenario regarding Cristian Romero ahead of his return on Thursday, December 7 against West Ham. The World Cup winner was shown a straight red card in the 4-1 London derby defeat to Chelsea with his dismissal setting off a disastrous string of events for Ange Postecoglou and Spurs.
Just moments after he headed down the tunnel, he was joined by both Micky van de Ven and James Maddison with the influential duo suffering injuries that are expected to keep them out until 2024. With the festive period always a busy one, the Lilywhites look set to face a further eight games without the two summer signings.
In the second half of that game, Destiny Udogie was shown a second yellow card which resulted in him missing the 2-1 defeat to Wolves. Udogie will hopefully return after the international break, assuming he recovers from the injury that saw him omitted from the Italy squad, while Romero will join van de Ven and Maddison for another two more fixtures, at home to Aston Villa and away to Manchester City respectively, after already serving the first match of his three-game ban.
In the second half of that game, Destiny Udogie was shown a second yellow card which resulted in him missing the 2-1 defeat to Wolves. Udogie will hopefully return after the international break, assuming he recovers from the injury that saw him omitted from the Italy squad, while Romero will join van de Ven and Maddison for another two more fixtures, at home to Aston Villa and away to Manchester City respectively, after already serving the first match of his three-game ban.
As a result, Eric Dier and Ben Davies were deployed in the centre of defence and that will likely remain the case for the next two games, unless Postecoglou brings in talented youngster Ashley Phillips. With his starting XI significantly affected, the international break has come at the perfect time for Postecoglou.
Two weeks at Hotspur Way will likely be valuable time for the Spurs head coach, while Rodrigo Bentancur, Giovani Lo Celso and Brennan Johnson can all build up their minutes over the domestic pause with the trio likely needed to play huge roles in the final month of the year. One of Lo Celso or Bentancur could even start against Aston Villa on Sunday, November 26 with Yves Bissouma suspended for the game.
Romero will also benefit hugely from being away and likely playing 180 minutes with Argentina, especially as his next competitive outing for Spurs will not arrive for another three weeks. The reigning world champions face Uruguay and Brazil over the coming days in qualifying fixtures for the 2026 World Cup with Romero expected to start both in defence alongside Nicolas Otamendi.
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