Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham Hotspur

Premier League • England

Cristian Romero injury update: Report from Argentina gives update on chances of Tottenham star facing Liverpool

Tottenham centre-back Cristian Romero

A report from Argentina has given an update on key Tottenham defender Cristian Romero’s chances of facing Liverpool in the Premier League this weekend.

The Spurs centre-back missed the weekend win over Bournemouth and the midweek Champions League triumph at Marseille that saw the club reach the last 16 of the competition.

And it would appear that he has no chance of facing the Reds on Sunday as he struggles with a ‘slight muscle injury’.

The Argentina international has had an up-and-down season so far. When he’s actually been available, Romero has been the outstanding centre-back in Antonio Conte’s back three.

However, the 24-year-old has struggled to shake off niggles and put a regular run of games together.

And TyC Sports in Romero’s native Argentina report that the no-nonsense defender will be out for around for 10 days.

That certainly rules him out of the big clash with Jurgen Klopp’s men. The League Cup trip to Nottingham Forest next Wednesday and a home clash with Leeds the following weekend are also likely to come too soon for the Argentine.

The news will come as yet another blow to Conte and his injury-hit side.

It was revealed on Wednesday evening that Son Heung-min will have surgery on the fractured eye socket he suffered against Marseille.

Meanwhile, both Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison are both still on the sidelines with their respective issues.

Romero absence forced defensive rejig

The injury to Romero meant Eric Dier was pushed out to the right side of the back three in France. Clement Lenglet played centrally, with Ben Davies on the left, as Conte clearly did not trust Davinson Sanchez in such a big game.

It appears that Conte has now decided that Sanchez and Emerson Royal cannot play together down the right.

Both players struggled badly during the win at Bournemouth and were constantly exposed.

With that in mind, Conte looks set to stick with the back three that played in France. However, Emerson is expected to return after impressing off the bench on Tuesday evening.

Tottenham also have an issue of what formation to play against a domestically struggling Liverpool side.

Conte normally prefers 3-4-3 but the Italian could go for a three-man midfield against the Reds. That would mean Rodrigo Bentancur pushing further forward to provide support to Harry Kane and Lucas Moura.

Bentancur has been Tottenham’s best player in recent weeks and has provided a goal threat in an advanced role.

That would mean Conte picking between Yves Bissouma and Oliver Skipp to play alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in Spurs’ engine room.

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