Cristian Romero to miss the remainder of Tottenham Hotspur's season with knee injury, 2026 FIFA World Cup hopes 'in the balance'

Cristian Romero to miss the remainder of Tottenham Hotspur's season with knee injury, 2026 FIFA World Cup hopes 'in the balance' - reports

Tottenham Hotspur will be without Cristian Romero for the rest of the season after the defender picked up a medial cruciate ligament injury following a clash with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, according to reports. The incident occurred during Spurs' defeat away to Sunderland, which saw them remain in the Premier League relegation zone. Romero's 2026 FIFA World Cup hopes are also under threat.

Tottenham Hotspur have suffered a major blow to their Premier League survival hopes with captain Cristian Romero reportedly ruled out for the rest of the season.

The defender clashed with goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky after being pushed by Brian Brobbey during Spurs' 1-0 defeat to Sunderland on Sunday and was in tears when being replaced after a lengthy period of on-field treatment.

It has been reported that Romero has suffered a partial tear of his medial cruciate ligament and will be ruled out for up to eight weeks, meaning he will miss Spurs' relegation run-in as things go from bad to worse for Roberto De Zerbi's side.

In addition, Romero will be in a race against time to be fit for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with his Argentina side hoping to defend the title they won in 2022.

Spurs dropped into the relegation zone on Friday when West Ham United thrashed Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 to leapfrog the north London side and escape the drop zone.

It is the first time Spurs have been in the bottom three this season, while they have still not won a Premier League game in 2026.

De Zerbi took charge of his first game against Sunderland but, thanks to Nordi Mukiele's second-half goal, Spurs were condemned to their 16th league defeat of the season as they remained two points from safety.

Spurs have had to deal with a vast number of injuries this season, with the likes of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, Dominic Solanke and Yves Bissouma all missing large parts of the campaign.

That has not helped their cause as they face the genuine prospect of Premier League relegation for the first time ever, and the first time being relegated from the English top-flight since the 1976/77 season under Keith Burkinshaw.

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Former Brighton & Hove Albion boss De Zerbi has six more games to turn the club's fortunes around and avoid dropping into the EFL Championship.

Next up they face the Italian's former club at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday before travelling to bottom club Wolves.

They will conclude their season with a run of matches against Aston Villa (a), Leeds United (h), Chelsea (a) and Everton (h).

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