Cristian Romero was a surprise inclusion for Tottenham against Chelsea.
Nobody expected the Argentina international to be fit for Sunday’s London derby – nor Micky van de Ven – although both were in the starting XI for the visit of Chelsea.
That was despite Ange Postecoglou giving a worrying update on Romero in his pre-match press conference, so perhaps some mind games were at large in the Tottenham camp.
Unfortunately, the South American lasted only 15 minutes before pulling up and coming off in place of Radu Dragusin – and Jamie Carragher thinks he saw the “ridiculous” way in which Cristian Romero hurt himself.
Jamie Carragher goes berserk at Cristian Romero for backheel
Shortly after Tottenham went 1-0 up thanks to Dominic Solanke, Romero bizarrely opted to pass the ball to Kulusevski inside his own box with an audacious backheeled flick, instead of hoofing it clear under pressure from several Chelsea players.
The Sweden international took a few seconds to react – presumably because he was just as baffled as we were – although he managed to collect the ball and get Tottenham up the pitch.
Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur leaves the game injured during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Chelsea FC at Tottenh...
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
However, it was still undoubtedly a moment of madness from Romero, who was fortunate that Kulusevski reacted quickest instead of a Chelsea player, and Carragher did not like what he saw whatsoever.
Speaking live on commentary duty for Sky Sports, the 46-year-old said: “Absolutely ridiculous. In a big game you need points from, and he’s hurt himself doing it (too).”
It seemed as if Romero, who Tottenham want to sign a new contract, suffered a calf injury in the opening 45 minutes – a problem Postecoglou will hope is only a minor one.
Tottenham No.17 does not seem to be maturing
Romero has been at Tottenham for almost four years now, and at 26 years of age, we would have expected him to phase these silly moments out of his game.
Cristian Romero of Tottenham Hotspur leaves the game injured during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Chelsea FC at Tottenh...
Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images
Just take a look at last season’s Premier League clash against Chelsea in N17, when the Tottenham No.17 foolishly flew into a studs-up challenge on Enzo Fernandez as Spurs led 1-0, getting himself sent off and allowing the Blues to make it 1-1 from the penalty spot all in one motion.
Tottenham eventually lost 4-1.
Of course, Romero was fortunate to get away with his unwise backheel against Chelsea on Sunday this time around, but Postecoglou will much prefer these sort of antics to stop.
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