Tottenham Hotspur have rejected a request from Argentina FA to rest their national players in the final round of fixtures before World Cup
Tottenham Hotspur have rejected a request from Argentina FA to rest their national players in the final round of fixtures before the World Cup, according to The Daily Mail (h/t Metro).
With the World Cup being held in late November instead of the usual summer of June and July means there is only one week between pausing of the Premier League and start of the tournament in Qatar.
Participating clubs are naturally concerned about their players and their fitness before the tournament and as such the Argentina FA have requested to release their national players one week before the final round of fixtures.
Spurs along with a host of Premier League clubs have rejected such a demand with the clubs under no obligation to do so. There are six Argentines in the Premier League in total, with Cristian Romero being the only one at the north London club.
Romero has been one of our best players this season and is a trusted centre-back by Antonio Conte. The 24-year-old has played in 13 games so far this season in all competitions, although he is currently out injured.
The centre-back is recovering from a hamstring injury and has missed the last three games for the club in all competitions. It is likely he will be fit before the tournament starts later this month.
While it is natural for the countries to feel afraid, it is not right for them to ask the clubs to release their players early. Clubs fear that the players may fake an injury to avoid playing in the final round of games.
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Spurs will play Liverpool this weekend, before facing Nottingham Forest next Wednesday for EFL Cup Round Three fixture. They will wrap up their first-half of the season by playing host to Leeds United next Saturday. Should Romero recover from his injury, it remains to be seen if Conte uses him in any of the remaining games.
