Ange Postecoglou has revealed that Cristian Romero is “definitely” a doubt for Tottenham’s game against Man City on Saturday night. This means that Spurs may be without their first-choice central defender duo of Romero and Micky van de Ven for the match at the Etihad Stadium.

Romero pulled out of the recent 4-1 win over Aston Villa with a foot injury, but returned for the home defeat to Ipswich Town the following weekend. The World Cup winner, who is away on international duty in Argentina, played only 45 minutes in last week’s 2-1 win over Paraguay, being substituted at half-time.

It was reported in his homeland that he was suffering from the same foot injury he suffered in Tottenham’s match against Aston Villa. The 26-year-old, who became a father for the second time this week, was then unavailable for Argentina’s 1-0 win over Peru on Wednesday.

Romero is now a doubt for Saturday’s away fixture at Man City, so he could remain in the treatment room with Van de Ven for the time being. The Dutchman last appeared for Tottenham last month in the Carabao Cup against City, but only featured for 14 minutes after suffering a thigh muscle problem.

Postecoglou hinted in the coming days that his central defender would return after the international break, although no date or match has been set for a possible return. Postecoglou revealed that Van de Ven is still “a few weeks away” ahead of this weekend’s game against Man City and that he could return in mid-December.

“Happy for Cristiano and his wife on the birth of their little girl,” Postecoglou said, speaking to Sky Sports. “He’s still not 100 per cent, so he’s definitely questionable for the weekend. Everyone else from the internationals did well.

“Micky is still a couple of weeks away. He’s training on grass but he’s still a couple of weeks away. Hopefully he’ll be back by mid-December and he’ll be able to play.”