Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Cristian Romero is fit for Saturday's Premier League's showdown with Manchester United.
The Argentine defender opened Tottenham's account for the 2023-24 campaign against Brentford last weekend, but he came off worse in a clash of heads with Bryan Mbeumo.
Romero had to be substituted only a few moments after heading home the first goal at the Gtech Community Stadium, as Postecoglou affirmed that he would take no risks with head injuries.
Postecoglou's stance, combined with the necessity for players to spend seven days on the sidelines as part of the concussion protocol, led to fears that Romero would not be able to play on Saturday.
However, speaking to reporters ahead of his first home game as a Premier League manager, Postecoglou revealed that the centre-back would be good to go after passing all relevant checks.
© Reuters
"Cristian is good to go, he's been in the hands of the medical team going through all the protocols," football.london quotes the Australian as saying.
"It's a clear defined process we needed to go through and he's ticked all the boxes. He felt fine all week -- trained and ready to go. Aside from that, no change from last week."
Romero's return leaves Fraser Forster, Bryan Gil, Ryan Sessegnon, Rodrigo Bentancur and Alfie Whiteman on the sidelines for Spurs, and the Argentine will likely partner new signing Micky van de Ven in the heart of the backline once more.
Van de Ven is one of two new centre-backs to join the Lilywhites this summer alongside 18-year-old Ashley Phillips, but Spurs are being tipped to bring in another defender before the deadline.
Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba and Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo are both thought to be targets, while Joe Rodon has already left for Championship side Leeds United on loan.
© Reuters
Monaco-linked Davinson Sanchez and Japhet Tanganga - who is apparently wanted by Inter Milan - are also on the chopping block, but Postecoglou has insisted that Spurs' focus is currently on outgoings rather than incomings.
"The reality of it is we can't just keep acquiring players. We've got too big a squad as it is. It affects the training, the players themselves because they all want to play and be involved," Postecoglou added.
"It's not so much one has to happen for the other but our focus at the moment is trimming the squad down and seeing where that takes us in terms of reinforcements. We're assessing that on a daily basis. There's still two weeks to go in the window and I'm sure you'll see some movement."
All of Tanganga, Sergio Reguilon, Eric Dier, Djed Spence and Tanguy Ndombele were left out of the squad to face Brentford last week, as was Hugo Lloris, who is in talks over a move to Italian giants Lazio.
Ben Knapton
