Spurs defender to miss the next six weeks

The news that Tottenham Hotspur fans feared has come true - Cristian Romero is to be out for a sustained period of time, with news coming to light that he will be miss the next six weeks of action, per reliable Argentine journalist Gaston Edul.

This means that the defender will miss, at least, the games against Rangers away (Europa League), Southampton away, Manchester United home (Carabao Cup), Liverpool home, Nottingham Forest away, Wolves home, Newcastle United home, Arsenal home, and Everton away.

Tottenham given yet another injury woe with Cristian Romero

The game away to Hoffenheim on match day seven of the Europa League game would be the first game to take place in more than six weeks time, although we will see if he progresses quicker, or perhaps slower, than this initial diagnosis of the injury.

Whilst you can understand Ange starting the defender against Chelsea, given the lack of alternatives, and everything is easy to say in hindsight – it did feel clear he was being rushed back, and it was a decision that has hugely backfired. Again, it goes down to the question – would you rather lose him for another 1-2 games, or another 1-2 months. Spurs now have the latter.

The Argentina international went off at 2-0, with Spurs having the upper hand. You would be naïve to say that they would have kept a clean sheet with him on the pitch for the whole game, but to say they would have, at least drawn the game, is not too far fetched from the reality of the situation.

Not only is he a better defender than anyone else Spurs have (even if he is not been at his best this season), he is undoubtedly a better ball player, and he would have helped Spurs relieve pressure by having the ball, as well as sustaining attacks. Now he is to miss the busiest schedule of the season.

Although it has quickly become obvious that Spurs are not going to compete for anything tangible in the Premier League, they could conceivably be knocked out of a Carabao Cup without Manchester City, in Romero’s absence. That game could make or break the season.

The better news is that Micky van de Ven’s removal was just for cramp, and he is set to be out for a week at most. It is looking like he will be partnering Radu Dragusin for the next few weeks at least.