LONDON — Tottenham Hotspur centre back Cristian Romero will not be risked for Saturday’s Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers after picking up a muscle problem following their match against Chelsea, manager Antonio Conte said.
Romero played the full 90 minutes against Chelsea last weekend despite the issue and British media said he could be out for a few weeks, but Conte dismissed suggestions that the 24-year-old Argentine would face a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
“About Cristian, he had a little problem against Chelsea in the final part of the game. After the game he started to feel a bit of pain in his adductor,” Conte told reporters.
“We checked him. The player wanted to give availability but in this situation we have a lot of games, it would be stupid to take risks. For this reason, he’s not available for Wolves.”
Midfielder Oliver Skipp is closing in on a return following a fractured foot, with Conte saying he would be running soon.
“I hope for this player to be a bit lucky, because since January he started to have a problem. We’ll have him available when we have a lot of games to play,” Conte said.
Conte and his Chelsea counterpart Thomas Tuchel were shown red cards at the end of their fiery encounter last weekend, and the Italian said he hoped to be on the touchline against Wolves.
“It’s right to stay in my place,” Conte said. “I repeat, after this type of situation you can learn a lot, but at the same time from many situation I was good to keep calm and don’t have an excessive reaction.”
Spurs thumped Southampton 4-1 in their league opener before being held to a 2-2 draw at London rivals Chelsea last weekend and are one of six teams on four points.
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