Interim Tottenham Hotspur manager Igor Tudor will welcome back Cristian Romero, Destiny Udogie and Lucas Bergvall for the second leg of the Champions League last-16 tie against Atletico Madrid this week.
However, Spurs will be without Joao Palhinha for the return leg, while Conor Gallagher may have to settle for a place on the bench after suffering from a virus in the lead up to the draw with Liverpool.
Spurs captain Romero makes a return from the concussion that he suffered in a collision with Palhinha in the 5-2 first-leg loss just under a week ago, though the Portuguese midfielder has not recovered in time for this week’s match.
“Romero, he's there. You saw him in training today? He can play. Joao, no, he's a little bit worse, so he'll be (available) for the next game. Romero is in,” explained Tudor.
But there is a welcome boost for Tudor as the duo of Udogie and Bergvall will be back in the squad, though their manager was quick to highlight that neither would be fit enough to play the entire match.
“Destiny and Lucas will be on the bench tomorrow. One part of the game, not too much because they have just started training with us, but it's good to see them,” said Tudor.
However, one player who will face a late assessment is Gallagher. The England midfielder – who joined in January from Atletico in a deal worth £35m – has been suffering from a “virus”, with Tudor adding that the staff “are going to see tomorrow if he is able to go on the bench”.
The returns of Bergvall and Udogie are a welcome boost as they ease one of the worst injury crises in the Premier League, with Spurs still without Yves Bissouma, James Maddison, Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski and Wilson Odobert as they welcome Atletico.
Tudor’s side will look to pull off one of the most remarkable comebacks in competition history as they host the Spanish side, with Spurs trailing by three goals ahead of kick-off after last week’s disaster in Madrid.