According to reports, Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou will be without one of his key players for the next six weeks.
Pressure is mounting on Postecoglou heading into the busy Christmas period after his team suffered their seventh league defeat of the season against London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.
Spurs took a 2–0 lead but were caught back after a series of errors and eventually lost 4–3, leaving them just in the bottom half.
Cristian Romero returned to the starting line-up for the match following a recent injury lay-off, but had to be replaced within the first 15 minutes after hurting himself attempting a back-heel move in his own penalty area.
Argentinian journalist Gaston Edul has now revealed that Romero has a new muscle problem and is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks.
The 26-year-old will miss the upcoming league matches against Liverpool and Newcastle, as well as the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United next week.
He will also face a race against time to be fit for Tottenham's north London derby at Arsenal on January 15.
Romero's centre-back Micky van de Ven was also taken off in the defeat to Chelsea, but Spurs are hopeful he has avoided serious injury.
Romero will be out for the rest of 2024, but he stopped to speak to a reporter after Sunday's defeat and appeared to point the finger at chairman Daniel Levy's lack of investment in the club due to Tottenham's inability to this season under Postecoglou. .
Asked if Spurs are suffering from limited spending and a lack of depth, Romero told Telemundo Deportes: “The truth is I wouldn't want to comment, but…”
'Manchester City participate every year, you see Liverpool strengthening their team, Chelsea strengthening their team, not doing well, getting stronger again, and now they are seeing results. Those are the things you have to imitate.
'You have to realize that something is going wrong, hopefully they realize that.
'In recent years it has always been the same: first the players change, then the coaching staff changes, and it is always the same people who are responsible.
'Hopefully they realize who the real people responsible are and we move on, because it's a wonderful club that, with the structure it has, could easily challenge for the title every year.'
Postecoglou faced angry Tottenham fans after last week's 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth, with some apparently turning on him.
But Romero is convinced the Australian is the right man to turn Spurs' fortunes around.
'He's a great coach. We saw it in the first season. In this second one we suffered a lot of injuries,” Romero said.
'Players are the first to be criticized, and if we lose ten games the staff can be changed, but no one talks about what actually happens.
'We are very happy with this staff, me and my colleagues. We like the way they work and the football they try to play. We're trying to move on quickly.”
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