The incident occurred shortly after Sunderland had taken the lead through a deflected Nordi Mukiele strike. In a desperate attempt to recover a loose ball, Romero appeared to be nudged by Black Cats forward Brian Brobbey, causing the Argentine international to lose his footing and collide with his own goalkeeper, Antonin Kinsky.
The impact was immediately identified as serious by those on the pitch. Sunderland midfielder Noah Sadiki was seen frantically gesturing for medical personnel to rush onto the field as both Tottenham players remained down. The Stadium of Light fell silent as trainers attended to the pair for several minutes, with backup goalkeeper Brandon Austin initially readied to replace the struggling Kinsky.