Cristian Romero has been criticised by former England goalkeeper Ben Foster after he left the pitch in tears during Tottenham's catastrophic 1-0 defeat against Sunderland.
The Argentine defender, 27, hobbled off the pitch midway through the second half with a suspected knee injury after colliding with his own goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
The defeat left Spurs in the relegation zone with six games remaining, after West Ham's emphatic 4–0 win over Wolves on Friday night.
Roberto De Zerbi, who was appointed last week after Tottenham sacked interim boss Igor Tudor following a dismal run of form, will now be concerned about the possibility of losing his most experienced defender for the rest of the season, ahead of MRI scans on Monday.
Foster, who played for the likes of Manchester United, West Brom and Watford during his playing career, has questioned whether Romero's tears sent the wrong message to his team-mates, with Spurs already 1-0 behind after Nordi Mukiele's deflected goal fired Sunderland in front on the hour mark.
'Romero's probably the one player who has got a bit of character in that team, a bit of grit and determination,' the former Premier League goalkeeper said on Match of the Day.
'If I was one of his team-mates there, I want him to be walking off the pitch grabbing everybody, getting everybody firing.
'They've still got 25 minutes there until full-time. But the tears, I feel, send the wrong message. As a captain you shouldn't be doing that.'
The threat of relegation has tightened on Tottenham following Sunday's poor defeat, which spans a run of 14 matches without a win for the north London side.
Still winless in 2026, De Zerbi's side are now two points adrift of safety with just six games to go.
The Italian takes on his old side Brighton at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next weekend before Spurs travel to bottom side Wolves at the end of April.
The struggling club then take on Aston Villa, Leeds, Chelsea and Everton to round out the season.
After Sunday's defeat, Romero's centre-half partner Micky van de Ven told Sky Sports: 'Every manager has their own opinion of the game and Roberto wants us to play out more from the back. That's what he asked.
'He wants us to play with confidence and that is what we need to build but we don't have a long time left. We need to do it now. You don't want to look at the other results and just need to win. You can't say you don't look at the other team.
'Six games left to get as many points as possible. There is pressure now as we are in the relegation zone but we need to make sure we get out of this situation.'