Tottenham have been dealt another damaging injury blow as Ange Postecoglou confirmed centre-back Cristian Romero will miss a month of action with a hamstring problem.
The Argentina international was replaced by Eric Dier at half-time of Spurs’ 2-1 victory over Everton on Saturday after experiencing muscle discomfort.
Tottenham are already without Dutch defender Micky van de Ven, with left-back Ben Davies stepping into the role in recent months.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s trip to Brighton, Postecoglou confirmed: “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.”
Romero suffered an injury scare on the opening day of the season in the 2-2 draw at Brentford and previously missed three games through suspension after his red card in the November defeat to Chelsea.
Spurs are already without Van de Ven, James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ivan Perisic, Ryan Sessegnon and Manor Solomon due to injury, while Yves Bissouma won’t play before the Africa Cup of Nations as he is suspended.
Destiny Udogie will return from his ban on Thursday at the AMEX Stadium, with Emerson Royal likely to join Davies in central defence with Pedro Porro at right-back.
Van de Ven has been out since the Chelsea defeat and gave a promising update while attending the PDC Darts World Championship, claiming he would be training again within a few weeks.
Postecoglou, however, tempered expectations with a more down-to-earth assessment.
He said: “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 Utd but I wouldn’t know until I see him in training. He’s at the tail end of it now.”
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