Cristian Romero to miss the next two games

Tottenham Hotspur central defender Cristian Romero is to miss the two remaining games before the November international break, after the injury he picked up in the 4-1 win over Aston Villa in the Premier League on Sunday.

The report suggested that the defender will be out for ‘7-10 days’, meaning it is a minor injury – but enough to rule him out of the two games that Spurs will play this week – away to Galatasaray in the Europa League, and at home to Ipswich Town in the Premier League.

However, one thing to note, is that Romero has been included in Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina squad – for World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay and Peru later this month. As you can imagine, this has gone down like a lead balloon within the Spurs fanbase.

Whilst World Cup qualifiers are important, and there is no doubt that South Americans have a love for representing their country like no other – Argentina are ten points clear of seventh spot, the first non automatic qualifying spot (play off instead) with ten games remaining. There is no doubt that they are going to qualify, none at all.

The reality is that Romero does not need to play in these games. It is seriously suboptimal. The defender was withdrawn against Manchester City just five minutes into the second half from fatigue, before going off injured against Villa.

Over the course of the break, the 26-year old will total over 14,000 miles of traveling, combined with jet lag, and potentially 180 minutes of football. There is nothing wrong with wanting to play every game for your country, but the club that pays his wages can feel a bit aggrieved that he will be jetting off to play thousands of miles away, after missing two games for Spurs.

It really is a shame how overworked the defender has been so far this season. In an ideal world, he would be not only fit, but also having played fewer minutes than he has, to be fully ready for the two games ahead. In an intense atmosphere like what Spurs will experience on Thursday evening, his experience of such atmospheres would have been invaluable for Ange’s side.

As it is, just like this time last year, the club are without their first choice central defensive duo. Fortunately, this time, Spurs do have Radu Dragusin at their disposal, who will likely partner Ben Davies in defence for the next two games.