Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has admitted that Sunday’s Premier League away game at Manchester United is probably too soon for Cristiano Romero.
Speaking to football.london, the Spurs boss said the £165,000-a-week defender had only just returned to training after injury.
Romero, who has been a key player for Tottenham again this season, has been absent since Christmas.
The Argentina international had to leave the pitch at half-time in Spurs’ 2-1 win over Everton last month because he pulled a thigh muscle.
Romero then missed the Premier League games against Brighton and Brentford and Friday’s 1-0 FA Cup win over Burnley.
The trip to Man United “could be a bit tight” for Tottenham star Cristian Romero:
Although Postecoglou was able to confirm that the 25-year-old is on his way and has returned to training, it is highly unlikely that he will feature as early as Sunday. He’ll likely be replaced by new signing Radu Dragusin at Old Trafford.
The Tottenham boss also provided an update on Ben Davies, Giovani Lo Celso and Dane Scarlett, who unfortunately are all injured.
“Ben Davies has been out since last week with a thigh muscle – he’s probably out for about a month,” Postecoglou said.
“Gio Lo Celso, similarly, but it’s a bit harder to diagnose where he is, so we’ll send him for tests on Monday, but he’s out.
“Dane Scarlett was injured in training, so he is absent. Both of them have muscle injuries – Dane a thigh muscle and Gio a hamstring muscle.
“The only one who will join the main group today is Romero and I think that’s it. He’s just started training, so it’s fair to say it might be a bit tight this weekend.”
Spurs are mostly back on track after a dip in form in November and early December. They have won four of their last five league games, most recently in the FA Cup third round.
Although it is a shame that Romero is likely to miss the Man United game, it is good to hear that he has returned to training and hopefully he will be back in action soon.