Tottenham are set to see one of their key first team stars leave for international duty next week, despite them being injured for their next two matches.
Ange Postecoglou's side play Galatasaray away in the Europa League on Thursday, before hosting Ipswich Town at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday.
Key players will be missing from both games, with Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Richarlison all set to be watching from the sidelines. One of the aforementioned trio has already been included in their national team squad, however, ahead of the international break next week.
Tottenham to lose Cristian Romero to Argentina - despite his injury
After limping off the pitch during Tottenham's 4-1 win over Aston Villa last weekend, Spurs fans feared the worst for Cristian Romero, with a suspected broken toe. Argentine journalist Gaston Edul has since dispelled those fears, stating it's only minor ligament damage and he'll only be out for the next seven to 10 days.
That has seen Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni include Romero in his squad for the November internationals, despite the fact he's set to miss Spurs' next two matches.
Argentina play Paraguay and Peru in World Cup qualifiers looking to extend their lead at the top of the South American table and cement their spot in Canada, USA and Mexico for 2026. They so far have 22 points after 10 games, though there are still eight matches remaining.
It seems Romero, capped 39 times by his national team, will be fit enough for at least some involvement in those games, despite Spurs not having that same luxury for the rest of the week. Tottenham do have the option to stop Romero from joining up with the national team if they don't feel he is fit enough, though.
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Romero and Van de Ven's injuries mean that Ange Postecoglou will likely start Radu Dragusin and Ben Davies in the centre of defence for the next two matches, in what are similar circumstances to the defensive injury crisis Tottenham suffered midway through last season.
Emerson Royal played with the Welshman in the heart of the Tottenham defence on that occasion, but the Brazilian has since departed the club.