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Tottenham Hotspur coach Thomas Frank stated he won’t take risks over the fitness of Cristian Romero as the club captain prepares to return against Chelsea on Saturday.
Romero has not featured for Tottenham since the start of October due to an adductor issue, but Frank is set to involve the Argentine for Chelsea’s visit to north London.
The centre-back also returned for the corresponding fixture last December, only to suffer another injury and miss three months as a result.
Frank is confident Romero is fully ready to feature, but will take the blame if there is another injury issue for the 27-year-old.
“The positive news is that Romero, Destiny (Udogie) and Wilson (Odobert) are available for selection for Saturday,” Frank told reporters on Friday.
“I am fully aware of the importance of making the best possible decisions. While I will receive a lot of information from the medical staff and performance team, ultimately, the responsibility rests with me.”
“If a player breaks down, it is on me. It is not on the medical staff, not on the performance staff, always me.
“I take decisions, I get all the information and then I have to take a difficult choice or a braver choice, or an easy choice, so that is it.
“If Romero was fit enough, he would have been involved on Wednesday (against Newcastle), but he is ready to be involved and let’s see how he is.”
Chelsea have won the last four meetings with rivals Tottenham, including two memorable fixtures in N17 under Frank’s predecessor, Ange Postecoglou.
Postecoglou infamously made Tottenham play a high defensive line despite being down to nine men for a large chunk of a 2023 clash, which ended in a 4-1 defeat.
“It was entertaining and we are in the entertainment business aren’t we? I remember the first, was that with nine men and 4-1? Yeah, I remember that one. That was crazy, but yeah, that is in the past,” said Frank, whose side are currently third in the Premier League.
“Some games we are a part of that everyone will remember for whatever reason and hopefully we are part of a game everyone will remember tomorrow and we come out on the winning side.
“It’s a London derby between two big rivals, there is so much on it and against a very good Chelsea team. Under the floodlights, it has got everything to be a top game.”
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