Ange Postecoglou will have to do without a total of nine players for Tottenham's Europa League tie against Roma on Thursday evening. Injuries have hit Spurs hard in recent weeks and that in turn has left the head coach with limited options to pick from when it comes to his team selection.
Guglielmo Vicario became the latest player to join a long list of casualties after it was confirmed on Monday evening that he had gone under the knife for a fracture of his right ankle. Spurs picked up a handful of injuries last November and history is very much repeating itself 12 months on.
Tottenham head into their latest Europa League game sitting seventh in the 36-team league after four fixtures. The Lilywhites were defeated in Istanbul last time out following a 3-2 loss at the hands of Galatasaray and it is important they get back to winning ways as they look to remain in the top eight.
Speaking to SPURSPLAY on Wednesday afternoon, Postecoglou revealed that Cristian Romero will play no part against the Italian side as he remains out of action with a foot injury. The boss stated that the World Cup winner will definitely be back in training next week if not by the end of this week.
"Cuti is getting better. He’s a lot closer," said Postecoglou. "We’re hoping he’ll be out there training with the group with a bit of luck by the back end of this week, if not, definitely next week."
football.london were present for the first 15 minutes of Tottenham's training session just prior to the press conference and there was no sign of Romero or Mikey Moore with the rest of the team. The youngster has been hit by a virus recently and Postecoglou said that "it's still probably a couple of weeks before he’ll be ready to get properly back into it".
Micky van de Ven will once again not be available for Tottenham as he works his way back to fitness from a hamstring issue. Postecoglou confirmed last week that a return in the middle of December for the Dutchman is on the cards.
Wilson Odobert also has a similar injury at present but his is more of a long-term absence after undergoing surgery to his right hamstring earlier in the month. That isn't the end of the hamstring injuries as Richarlison also has the same issue and it's looking like the new year when he will make his comeback.
Will Lankshear then joins the big list of missing attackers as he is suspended for the Roma game following his red card at Galatasaray at the beginning of the month. The striker will only be absent for the one match after he was dismissed for two bookable offences.
Djed Spence remains ineligible for Tottenham in the Europa League after he was left out of the team's 25-man squad prior to the league phase commencing. The same goes for out-of-favour Sergio Reguilon, whose only appearance in a matchday squad this season came away at Coventry City in September.