Ahead of his Thursday return from a three-game suspension against West Ham, Cristian Romero has sent a message to Tottenham. Romero received a straight red card in the first half of Chelsea’s 4-1 loss in early November for a forceful challenge on Enzo Fernandez that also led to a penalty kick for the Blues.
Ange Postecoglou was left without his two first-choice options when his center-back partner Micky van de Ven hobbled off with a hamstring injury shortly after he was dismissed. Postecoglou used Emerson Royal alongside the Wales international after starting Eric Dier and Ben Davies together against Wolves.
It made sense to be concerned about the two full-backs facing Manchester City star Erling Haaland after three straight league losses. But in the match against Spurs, the Norway international was unable to put a shot on goal as Dejan Kulusevski scored a late header to steal a point at Etihad Stadium.
Tottenham was fortunate to be in the game at halftime after Pep Guardiola’s team’s first-half onslaught, as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s arrival allowed Spurs to regain control of the match. Romero is expected to return, and the Denmark international could start against West Ham with Yves Bissouma struggling for form and Bryan Gil being substituted at halftime.
Romero has posted a video of himself and Alejo Veliz playing head table tennis on Instagram, along with the caption “Que mananas estas teniendo hijo mio” in Spanish, in light of this. Although it’s unclear exactly what the message means, the words “boy” and “morning” are used, which seems to allude to Veliz and the time of day.
Romero’s arrival at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Thursday evening will undoubtedly give Spurs the confidence they need to defeat West Ham. Postecoglou’s daring style of play has sorely missed having him at the back. Since the majority of Spurs’ top four opponents are playing before the London derby, a league victory will be a big accomplishment.
The Hammers come into the game off the back of a draw against Crystal Palace in a game that also saw the return of Jarrod Bowen. Club captain Kurt Zouma missed the clash due to personal reasons following a burglary at his house and his availability for the game remains unknown.
