Tottenham Hotspur interim manager Igor Tudor will welcome back Christian Romero, Destiny Udoji and Lucas Bergvall for this week’s Champions League last-16 second leg tie against Atletico Madrid.
However, Spurs will be without Joao Palinha for the second leg, while Connor Gallagher may have to take his place on the bench after contracting the virus ahead of the draw with Liverpool.
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Tottenham captain Romero has recovered from concussion after colliding with Palinha in the 5-2 loss in the first leg less than a week ago, but the Portuguese midfielder has not recovered in time for this week’s game.
“Romero, he’s there. Did you see him in training today? He’s available. Joao, no, he’s a little bit worse, so he’s available for the next game. Romero is there,” Tudor explained.
In the 5-2 defeat in the first round, Romero and Palinha were both forced off the field with concussions (Action Images via Reuters)
However, the Tudors took a welcome step forward with the return of duo Udoji and Bergvall, although their manager was quick to stress that neither was fit enough to play the full game.
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“Destiny and Lucas will be on the bench tomorrow. Part of the game, not too much because they’ve just started training with us, but it’s good to see them,” Tudor said.
However, Gallagher is one player who will face a late evaluation. The England midfielder, who joined from Atletico Madrid for £35m in January, has been troubled by a “virus” and Tudor added that staff “will see if he can be on the bench tomorrow”.
The return of Bergvall and Udoji is a welcome boost as they ease one of the Premier League’s worst injury crises, with Spurs still without Yves Bissouma, James Maddison, Mohamed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski and Wilson Odobert as they welcome Atletico Madrid.
The Tudor side will host the Spanish side looking to pull off one of the most spectacular comebacks in the competition’s history, with Spurs trailing by three goals before kick-off following last week’s disaster in Madrid.