Tottenham Hotspur have given the green light to Cristian Romero’s inclusion in the Argentina squad, despite the fact the defender has not played this year.
Romero has played only 15 minutes since November 10, having been sidelined with a quadriceps injury, but has been called up to the preliminary Argentina squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil later this month. His last 15-minute appearance for Tottenham was in the 4-3 home defeat to Chelsea on December 8.
The announcement has sparked concern among some Spurs fans, but it is understood that the club have been in close contact with the Argentine federation about Romero’s injury, recovery and potential availability for his country.
Tottenham were fully expecting Romero to be called up for the March games after their talks with Argentina and the defender has been included in his country’s preliminary squad with his club’s blessing.
Insiders have pointed out that clubs stay in regular and close contact with the national federations of their players in any case, and that it would be extremely rare for a player to receive a call-up without their prior knowledge.
Tottenham had kept Argentina up to date with Romero’s progress with his recovery, rehabilitation and return to training with the defender in the running to return to head coach Ange Postecoglou’s squad for Thursday night’s Europa League last-16 game against AZ Alkmaar.
After this week’s visit to Alkmaar, Spurs host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Sunday, Alkmaar next week and travel to Fulham in their final game before the international break – by which time Romero could have featured in as many as four matches.
Tottenham will stay in close contact with Argentina over the next couple of weeks to update them on Romero’s progress and also notify them of any potential problems or setbacks. Assuming there are no difficulties, however, it is assumed Romero will be available for selection for the World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil.
