Because Cristian Romero is still having trouble speaking English, Ben Davies acknowledged over the weekend that he had no idea how the Argentinean handled his suspension.
Romero appeared to be a frustrated player who was eager to get back into the game, judging from his smoldering stare directed towards Matty Cash following the Aston Villa defender’s nasty challenge that injured Rodrigo Bentancur last week.
Romero, who played in Argentina’s two World Cup qualifiers last month, will return to action on Thursday night when Spurs host West Ham. Romero missed three games due to a straight red card in Chelsea’s 4-1 victory on November 6.
Regardless of your opinion of Romero’s dismissal for a studs-up follow-through on Enzo Fernandez, he looked out of control against Chelsea and was fortunate to escape punishment for kicking out at Levi Colwill earlier.
Spurs have suffered because of his suspension as well as the significant hamstring injury sustained by defensive partner Micky van de Ven during the same game.
One of the “non-negotiables” of the head coach’s philosophy, Ange Postecoglou’s team has only managed to muster one point out of a possible twelve, and since Romero left the field against Chelsea, they have conceded eleven goals and found it difficult to play out of the back.
In the 3-3 draw at Manchester City, Emerson Royal, who filled in as right center-back in the previous two games, was twice seen playing out of position.
Eric Dier looked ill-equipped for Postecoglou’s football in the reverse at Wolves and has since joined Spurs’s long injury list.
“Tottenham’s hopes of keeping in touch with the front-runners feel dependent on Romero keeping fit – and his cool”
Emerson is expected to drop out on Thursday night, with the left-footed Davies likely to partner Romero at centre-back – and presumably with enough common language to communicate on the pitch.
The return of Romero will ease Spurs’s selection crisis, but if he is shown another straight red this season, he would be banned for four matches, so their hopes of keeping in touch with the front-runners feel dependent on the 25-year-old keeping fit – and his cool.
Postecoglou says he has not spoken to Romero about discipline, but offered the suggestion of a warning to his vice-captain, pointing out the team are punished for his rushes of blood.
“It’s part of who he is as a player, he brings a physicality to it,” he said. “When he oversteps the mark, the whole group pays a price, so it’s up to him to maintain the discipline I know he can show.”
