The smell of damp turf and cold North East air seemed to hang heavy over the Stadium of Light this Sunday. It wasn’t the kind of day Tottenham needed, and it definitely wasn’t the day Cristian Romero expected. During their 1-0 loss to Sunderland, the Argentina star had to limp off the pitch in tears. You could see the frustration on his face — honestly, he looked devastated as he made the long walk to the sideline.
He collided with his own keeper, Antonín Kinsky, in the second half. Kinsky ended up just fine after getting his head wrapped in a bandage, but Romero? He was clearly struggling. It’s hard to tell how bad it is right now, but seeing a guy like that get that emotional usually isn’t a great sign. Or maybe it’s just the heat of the moment, I don’t know.
Tottenham is in a real mess sitting in 18th place. They’re stuck two points behind West Ham with only six games left to save their season. Roberto De Zerbi, the new coach, called the injury “very bad” in his post-match comments. He kept saying they need to wait a few days to see, but he was clearly worried about losing such a crucial player. Actually, it felt like he was struggling to find the right words to describe the outlook.
Then there’s the Argentina factor.
With the World Cup kicking off in June, the timing is about as bad as it gets. Romero is a central part of Scaloni’s plans for the defending champions, and the thought of him missing the opener against Algeria in Kansas City is enough to make any fan wince. Misryoum has been tracking the squad updates, and the anxiety from the national team camp is already palpable.
He didn’t need a stretcher, which is something, I guess. He walked off on his own while his teammates tried to console him, but he looked completely shaken. We’re all just waiting on the scan results now. I hope it’s not an important problem—that’s what De Zerbi said, but hope doesn’t always translate to the pitch. We’ll see.