Tottenham Hotspur need a bounce back win on Wednesday night in the Champions League, and they will face a pretty tough team in Monaco in order to get back to winning ways. Last Sunday, Spurs dropped all three points in the Premier League, falling 2-1 to an Aston Villa side that have been arguably the most disappointing in the entire English top flight this season.
What didn't help Spurs was a key late injury, as Cristian Romero was scratched off the starting lineup due to a late adductor injury in warmups before the game. Although Kevin Danso stepped in and played well at center back, Tottenham were clearly hurt by not having the Argentinian international out there, especially from the perspective of progressing the ball.
Romero won't be able to play for Tottenham against Monaco either, and that's going to be a huge blow for Spurs against a Ligue 1 side that can be very dangerous from an attacking sense, especially if their young stars like Maghnes Akliouche go off.
But Romero isn't the only center back currently dealing with an injury. In the pregame press conference for Tottenham before the Monaco match, Spurs manager Thomas Frank told reporters, via The Spurs Express, that fellow center back Ben Davies is going to miss "weeks" with an injury.
Tottenham can't afford any more injuries
The Welsh international went down during the October international break with a hamstring injury, and he is going to be out of commission as a result. Although Davies is no longer a key player for Tottenham and could have honestly been moved this summer, losing Davies does hurt the team's depth at the position.
Without Romero and Davies, Tottenham are still waiting for Kota Takai and Radu Dragusin to return from injuries. Therefore, Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso are the only 100 percent healthy center backs for Spurs.
Thus, Tottenham really can't afford either of those two standouts to get injured, especially if Romero also misses multiple games. Davies being on a timeline of weeks until a return from a tricky hamstring injury is tough, because he is literally in the squad to be available as a veteran presence, should injuries strike the top guys.
Tottenham have been ravaged by injuries already in the 2025/26 season, and while most of those absences have affected the striker position and other attacking areas, the center back position has now been struck, too.