Tottenham defender Cristian Romero will miss four or five weeks with a thigh muscle injury, manager Ange Postecoglou said on Wednesday.
The Argentina international, who only returned from a three-month suspension earlier this month, was injured in Saturday’s 2-1 Premier League win over Everton.
Postecoglou told reporters ahead of Tottenham’s Quarter-League match at Brighton on Thursday: “It’s not so good with Romero. He had a check-up a few days ago and he has a strain in his thigh joint. He’s probably looking at four or five weeks.
“It’s definitely disappointing to lose him. Obviously we missed him because of the suspension, but now we’ve just got him back and he’s stabilised things. Now he’ll be missing again for a while.”
However, Romero’s midfield partner Micky van de Ven should be ready to return soon after a thigh muscle injury.
“We will see him sometime in January,” Postecoglou said. “I don’t think he will play for Burnley (in the FA Cup on January 5) but for Manchester United on January 14.
“He’s not supposed to be part of the squad this week, so we’ll see how it goes with him at the end of this week. Once he starts training with the group we will start thinking about whether he will be available.”
At Spurs, Destiny Udogie will return to ninth-placed Brighton after a one-month ban, while Postecoglou could push circular striker Emerson Royal into the heart of defence alongside Ben Davies in Romero’s absence.