Tottenham Hotspur’s survival mission entered a grimmer phase on Sunday after a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland left them rooted in 18th place, and the sight of Cristian Romero limping off in tears with a potential MCL injury cast a shadow over their already precarious situation. It was Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge of the club, and it ended in exactly the fashion that nobody associated with Spurs needed.
Romero was involved in an accidental collision with goalkeeper Antonín Kinsky late in the second half, after Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey pushed him into his own keeper. Kinsky required a bandage around his head and was able to continue, but Romero could not, departing the field visibly distressed and consoled by teammates. Injury experts immediately flagged the possibility of MCL damage based on the position of his knee during the fall.
New coach De Zerbi did not hide his concern. “I am sorry for the result, I am sorry for the Romero injury,” he told reporters. “We have to see in the next days. I hope for us it is not an important problem because he is a crucial player for us. We need him to finish the season and to achieve our goal.”
Sunderland’s winner came through a deflected Nordi Mukiele strike, which bobbled into the net against the run of play. Spurs had enough moments to have found an equaliser but their lack of cutting edge, a theme throughout the entire season, persisted. They are now on just one win in their last 11 matches, a run stretching back to January. The points gap between them and safety is two, with West Ham currently sitting above them.
Losing Romero for any significant stretch could be decisive in a survival battle with only six games remaining. For De Zerbi, the challenge of steadying a club in freefall has been made considerably harder before he has had a chance to organise a single training session. The broader institutional chaos — three managers in one season, a 16-match winless run in the league, and a squad lacking cohesion at every level — is a problem no single appointment can resolve quickly.