View: Tottenham dealt injury blow as Ange Postecoglou confirms 99% star unavailable v Roma

Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Cristian Romero will miss out for Tottenham against Roma on Thursday.

Spurs recorded their most impressive win of the season, and perhaps of Postecoglou’s reign, by beating Manchester City 4-0 in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday [23 November].

Therefore, the mood would have been high among Spurs supporters on Sunday [24 November].

However, as has often been the case in North London this season, that joy was short-lived, and the club was sent crashing back down to earth as it was confirmed on Monday [25 November] that Guglielmo Vicario had undergone surgery.

As a result, the goalkeeper could be out of action for more than eight weeks in a huge blow to Postecoglou.

And the bad news seems to just keep on coming on the injury front. With Mikey Moore still nowhere to be seen, Postecoglou has now also confirmed via Spurs’ official website [27 November] that Romero remains sidelined.

“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,” Postecoglou said.

It means Spurs will be without several key first-team players at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against Roma on Thursday [28 November].

Cristian Romero to miss out for Tottenham v Roma on Thursday

Romero is one of Spurs’ most important players, and as the stats suggest, one of the best centre-backs in the entire Premier League.

As per fbref, the 27-year-old ranks in the 99th percentile of his positional peers in England’s top flight for the number of tackles he has won this season [2.06 per 90] as well as the 97th percentile for the number of dribblers he has tackled [1.31 per 90].

In addition, he is also very capable on the ball, which is important in Postecoglou’s system.

Romero ranks in the top three per cent of Premier League centre-backs for his total passing distance [1384.50 yards per 90] as well as his total progressive passing distance [543.09 yards per 90], while he also sits in the top five per cent for the number of passes he has played into the final third [7.97 per 90].

He sits in the 95th percentile for both his total carrying distance [320.34 yards per 90] and total progressive carrying distance [200.25 yards per 90], as well as the 92nd percentile for his carries into the final third [1.50 per 90].

Therefore, it is clear to see just how much of a miss he is for Postecoglou and Spurs.

However, Radu Drăgușin and Ben Davies didn’t fare so badly against City last time out, and Postecoglou will have to hope for a similar level of performance against Roma, with as many as six changes expected for that clash.

In other Tottenham news, a Davies contract decision has been made in North London.

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