Roberto De Zerbi endured an unhappy return to the Premier League as Tottenham fell to a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.
Nordi Mukiele scored the solitary goal of the game in the second half to give the home side all three points, while Spurs fell deeper into the Premier League relegation zone.
Tottenham are now winless in the Premier League in 2026. After West Ham United and Nottingham Forest secured positive results this week, they are two points away from safety.
To make matters worse, club captain Cristian Romero was withdrawn prematurely due to an injury.
Romero injury compounds Tottenham’s woes
In the second half, Romero was involved in a nasty collision with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
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As he went to shield the ball for the Czech international to take control of it, Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey judged him from the back as his knee collided with Kinsky’s head.
While the Tottenham goalkeeper carried on for the rest of the game with a bandage on his head, Romero was forced to be substituted for Kevin Danso as he left the pitch in tears.
And now, De Zerbi has allayed fears of a long-term injury, although further details are expected in the coming days.
“I am sorry for the result and the Romero injury,” said the new Tottenham manager after the game (quotes via BBC).
“I hope for us and for him that it is not something important.”
Argentine journalist provides Romero injury update
Gaston Edul is one of the most reliable Argentine journalists around and would have had one eye on the game as Romero is a central cog for Lionel Scaloni’s side.
In the wake of his injury, Edul provided an update on his situation. He wrote on X: “Cuti Romero has some instability in his knee, and they’re going to run ligament tests to see if he injured the medial collateral ligament or if it was just the impact. The pain is still there.”
Tottenham will hope it’s just an impact injury rather than ligament damage as a nervous wait ensues for the full prognosis.
If Romero is indeed out for the long haul, that is quite simply a catastrophic blow for both Tottenham and Argentina. Whatever can go wrong has already gone wrong for the Lilywhites this season, but Romero’s injury could be the last straw for them as they push to avoid relegation.
