Antonio Conte reveals Tottenham Hotspur ace Cristiano Romero will not feature again this year

Speaking in his pre-match press conference (h/t The Sun), Antonio Conte revealed that Cristian Romero will not play again for Tottenham Hotspur in 2021 due to his ‘serious injury.’

Spurs signed the 23-year-old on a loan deal from Atalanta in the summer. He was named as Serie A Defender of the Year last season and was expected to bring those qualities to North London.

He was arguably the standout defender during Nuno Espirito Santo’s brief stint. However, he picked up a red card in the first game under Conte. That did not sway the Italian’s intentions of selecting him for the Everton game, indicating his trust in the player.

Unfortunately, the centre-back picked up an injury while featuring for Argentina in the international break. The timing could not have been worse.

Romero was unavailable for the game against Leeds United and NS Mura. Conte has now revealed that the defender will not return to action this year.

“The news is not positive. It is not good. The injury is serious, and it will be a long time before we see him (Romero) again. Surely next year. We will check on his injury week by week, but it is serious. Now he is trying to recover, but he needs time to recover. He is an important player for us.”

A defensive handicap

The edgy victory against Leeds United and the defeat to NS Mura highlighted the defensive work Conte needs to do at Tottenham. His troubles could have appeared manageable had the defender’s return to action been imminent.

The Argentine international is one of the few defenders Spurs possess, who are of genuine quality. His calm sense of nature would have been much-needed in a rather chaotic three-man defence. The former Inter Milan boss would have wanted to get off to a good start at North London.

The progress is bound to be hampered now since one of his key players will not kick a ball until the business end of the season. Qualifying for the European spots should be the aim, but even that looks far-fetched now. 

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This injury might just cost us the season unless one of our available defenders raise their performance levels. Ben Davies has come into the line-up of late, and the Welshman’s experience will be key in the coming weeks.

The game against Brentford is an important one, and it will give us a taste of how Spurs look without Romero and the gap in quality brought about by his absence.