Cristian Romero’s injury added to Tottenham’s recent woes as their relegation misery deepened after a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland.
It wasn’t a happy first outing for Roberto De Zerbi, whose side failed to live up to the pre-match hype at the Stadium of Light.
Nordi Mukiele scored the only goal of the game in the second half as Regie Le Bris’ side secured all three points at home.
And while Tottenham’s relegation risk is the elephant in the room, Romero’s injury and premature substitution have added to their problems.
Ben Foster calls out Tottenham captain Cuti Romero
Romero started alongside Micky van de Ven at the heart of the backline and was in the thick of the action right from the get-go.
He was on the wrong end og a harsh challenge from Brian Brobbey and was seen squealing in pain, although he got back on his feet swiftly.
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However, in the second half, the Argentine collided badly with Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, after which the game was stopped for a lengthy period.
The Czech international suffered a blow to his head but was able to carry on with a bandage. Romero, however, walked off the pitch in tears with a suspected knee injury as Kevin Danso took his place.
Speaking after the game, Ben Foster criticised the Tottenham captain for being reduced to tears, adding that it sends the wrong message to the fans and the rest of his teammates.
“Romero is probably the one player who has got a bit of character in that team, a bit of grit and determination,” said Foster via BBC.
“If I was one of his teammates there, I want him to be walking off the pitch, grabbing everybody, getting everybody firing.
“They’ve still got 25 minutes there until full-time. But the tears, I feel, send the wrong message. As a captain, you shouldn’t be doing that.”
Romero wears his heart on his sleeve
Romero never shies away from a scrap or a hard challenge and is a bit of a fiery character. When he went down with an injury and was told he couldn’t continue, his emotions clearly got the better of him.
Obviously, he would want to be there on the pitch to help Tottenham avoid relegation, while there is also a small matter of representing defending champions Argentina at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
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The prospect of being out of action during such an important phase of his career would have crossed his mind, so it’s not hard to see why his emotions got the better of him.
De Zerbi feels Romero won’t be out for the long haul, which is good news for Tottenham as they need their captain fit and firing for the rest of the season.
Foster’s comments are in poor taste and also ill-timed, as the last thing Tottenham need right now is another off-field controversy.
