Postecoglou confirms Romero out ‘four or five weeks’ and Tottenham must wait on Van de Ven
Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Cristian Romero will be out for “four to five weeks” and his Tottenham centre-back partner Micky van de Ven may still be missing by the beginning of January.
Without injuries, Tottenham might well still be flying high right at the top end of the table. After 10 games with something close to their best side out, Spurs were 10th.
Alas, that’s not how things have remained, with the squad having been decimated, with players spending time on the sidelined.
The defence has been badly impacted, with Van de Ven having been out since the beginning of November, and each of Destiny Udogie, Eric Dier, Ben Davies and Romero being sidelined at one time or another.
The latter is set for another month out of action at least, as Postecoglou confirmed his fate after he picked up a hamstring injury against Everton.
“Not so great with Romero. He had a scan and he’s got a hamstring strain. We’re looking at four to five weeks with him,” Postecoglou told football.london.
His centre-back partner Van de Ven recently stated he would be back in training within two weeks, and that was a week ago.
Postecoglou has suggested that may have been the Dutchman being too eager, as he certainly doesn’t think he’ll be back in action for the first week in January.
“Where did he say that? Ah the darts. I wouldn’t put too much in what the players say mate. I don’t think [he’ll be back for] Burnley, maybe for Man United but I wouldn’t know until I see him in training. He’s at the tail end of it now,” Postecoglou said.
“For sure and at some point, middle of January he could be available but how we use him after such a long absence will be depending on where he is at.”
That leaves the manager with some big decisions to make regarding the heart of his defence for the next few weeks until one of his preferred centre-backs returns.
Reports suggest the boss is looking to add to the central defensive options at his disposal.
Jean-Clair Todibo looks one of the most likely to be recruited, and Spurs have been given a boos in that Nice owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe won’t stand in the way of that move, despite investing in Manchester United, who also want the defender.
Another issue that Tottenham will face is the absence of Heung-min Son. He could miss six games as he heads to the Asia Cup, and Dane Scarlett has been recalled to north London as backup.
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