Tottenham Hotspur defender Cristian Romero ‘should be absolutely fine’ to play for Argentina at this month’s World Cup, according to injury expert Ben Dinnery.
The 24-year-old played no part in the Albicelestes' friendly against the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday but should recover in time to feature in their opening Group C encounter.
What is the latest news involving Romero?
Romero put in several promising performances for Tottenham in the opening months of the campaign before picking up a fitness complaint that ruled him out of action.
The tough-tackling centre-back missed Spurs’ final six encounters prior to the mid-season pause, with his manager Antonio Conte explaining that he ‘felt a lot of fatigue’.
Ahead of Tottenham’s Champions League clash against Sporting CP, Conte said: “The players gave their availability to play otherwise honestly if the player doesn’t want to play, I don’t force the player.
“Now after the game against United, he felt a lot of fatigue and then yesterday he felt fatigue in his calf. Before in his thigh, the right. Now left in the calf.”
What has O’Rourke said about Romero?
In an interview with GiveMeSport, Dinnery said: “So, with regards to Cristian Romero, although there are no guarantees, my understanding is that his muscle problem is fairly short term.
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“He should be fine in terms of where he is with regards to that muscle injury, although the consideration will then come for a player who hasn't played for a month, or maybe even beyond that if it goes to that second or third group game.
“But as it currently stands in terms of the actual injury itself, he should be absolutely fine. Like I said, the other factors to consider would be a decision to make maybe closer to the time, but he's well on his way to recovering from that.”
How good is Romero?
Romero joined Tottenham on a permanent basis in the summer after impressing throughout a season-long loan, completing a £42 million move from Atalanta.
As per FBref, the 6 foot 1 ace has ranked in the 99th percentile for tackles, 92nd for progressive passes received, 89th for completed dribbles and blocks, and 82nd for attempted passes and progressive passes amongst his positional peers over the last year.
Argentina kick off their World Cup campaign against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, and they will surely be hoping Romero can play some part in the fixture.
The South American giants will be aiming to win football’s biggest prize for the third time in their history in what will be Lionel Messi’s final World Cup.