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Tottenham’s deepening relegation concerns appears to have been heightened by the loss of their captain, Cristian Romero, for the remainder of the season.

Romero was reduced to tears as he left the pitch after 70 minutes of Sunday’s 1-0 loss at Sunderland, following a coming together with the striker Brian Brobbey that led to the Argentinian clattering into his own goalkeeper, Antonin Kinsky. Romero, it is believed, has sustained medial knee ligament damage that will take around eight weeks to heal.

That has allayed fears in Argentina that the centre-back will definitely miss this summer’s World Cup. But Tottenham, who closed the weekend in 18th, are almost certainly without a key player for the remaining six matches of the campaign, a spell that will determine whether they are playing in the Premier League or Championship next year.

“I don’t know,” said Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham’s head coach, when asked about Romero’s prognosis after the loss at the Stadium of Light, his first game in charge of Spurs. “I hope for us it’s not too important a problem because he’s a crucial player for us. He’s a good guy, good player, top player, big personality and we need him to finish this season and to achieve our goal.”

Scans have shown the extent of an injury not as bad as first feared though it remains disastrous for a team, yet to win a domestic match in 2026, that has lost 16 times in the league this season.

Romero’s absence adds to an already lengthy injury list, with both previous managers, Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, denied the services of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, the pair missing all season. Wilson Odobert and Mohammed Kudus have joined them as long-term absentees. Kinsky, the reserve keeper removed by Tudor after 17 minutes against Atlético Madrid, was playing at the Stadium of Light because Guglielmo Vicario is recovering from a hernia operation.

Brobbey was targeted for racist abuse on social media for his part in the collision. In a statement, Sunderland said: “We stand firmly with Brian and offer him our full and unwavering support. The club has reported this incident to the Premier League, the relevant social media platforms, and the police, and we expect swift action to be taken against those responsible.”