Antonio Conte has provided another update on the fitness of Cristian Romero and revealed that the defender won’t return until the New Year following his recent hamstring injury.
Romero sustained the problem playing for Argentina against Brazil over the international break and has missed the games against Leeds and Mura.
There were hopes that the centre-back could be back available for the hectic festive period, but the Tottenham boss said that he might not be back in action until as late as February.
Should that be the case, Romero will miss up to 10 Premier League games, the Rennes tie in the Europa Conference League, the Carabao Cup quarter-final against West Ham later this month and the 3rd and 4th round FA Cup games, if Tottenham progress.
Conte was unable to provide a specific return date, but did once again say that Romero’s injury is “serious” and will be monitored on a weekly basis.
The Tottenham boss said: “The news is not positive, not good. Because the injury is serious and I think it will take time before we see him again. Surely next year and we need to check his injury week by week but the injury is serious.
“Now he is trying to recover, he needs a long time. He needs time to recover. It’s a pity because he’s an important player for us but the injury is very serious. January, February I don’t know but 2021 is finished to play. We have to wait to recover well but the injury is serious.”
