Cristian Romero slams ‘disgraceful’ injury crisis after Tottenham Hotspur held by Manchester City

Tottenham Hotspur captain Cristian Romero hit out at the club’s mounting injury crisis, calling it ‘disgraceful’ after Spurs were forced to make do with only 11 available players in their 2-2 Premier League draw against Manchester City on Sunday.

Romero suffered a half-time withdrawal because of illness, and Pape Matar Sarr replaced him, as the two-goal deficit was overcome by the North London club in the second half to rescue a point.

Romero wrote in a post on Instagram, thanking the fans while vowing the squad will stick together and work hard to turn their season around.

"Great effort from all my team-mates yesterday, they were incredible," Romero said.

"I wanted to be available to help them even though I wasn't feeling well, especially since we only had 11 players available - unbelievable but true and disgraceful.

"We'll keep showing up and taking responsibility to turn this around, working hard and staying together. All that's left is to thank all of you for being there and for always supporting us, the fans."

Tottenham did not issue an instant comment on a request outside of regular business hours. 

Spurs currently lack a forward, Mohammed Kudus, who has a quad injury that is likely to keep him out until April, and the midfielders Lucas Bergvall and Rodrigo Bentancur are also unavailable because of injuries.

Midfielder James Maddison is also currently out of action with a hamstring strain, and Striker Richarlison and defender Pedro Porro are also contending with hamstring strains after being out since last August.

In January, the club has signed midfielder Conor Gallagher of Atletiko Madrid and 19-year-old Brazilian defender Souza of Santos, and sold last season's leading goalscorer Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace.

Tottenham, the 14th team in the Premier League with 29 points in 24 matches, will meet Manchester United on Saturday at Old Trafford.