Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a major fitness boost as defender Cristian Romero has returned to training ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The 25-year-old has not played for Spurs since pulling his hamstring in a 2-1 home victory over Everton in the top flight on December 23.
Manager Ange Postecoglou revealed a few days after the match that Romero would be facing four to five weeks on the sidelines in another injury blow for his Spurs side.
The recent absence of Romero along with fellow first-choice centre-back Micky van de Ven has forced Postecoglou to play full-backs Emerson Royal and Ben Davies in central defence.
In addition, Postecoglou has been short of leaders in the first team due to the absences of vice-captain duo Romero and James Maddison, while club captain Son Heung-min is away on international duty with South Korea at the Asian Cup.
However, Romero is seemingly ahead of schedule in his recovery from a hamstring problem, as the Evening Standard reports that the Argentine has returned to training and will be in contention to face Man United this weekend.
Van de Ven has also returned to first-team training and could make his first appearance for Spurs since early November, while Ryan Sessegnon is fit to feature after making his first appearance of the season in last week's 1-0 FA Cup win over Burnley following a lengthy spell out with a thigh problem.
Postecoglou is set to have two fresh faces to call upon this weekend as forward Timo Werner and defender Radu Dragusin have both completed their respective loan and permanent moves to Tottenham.
Werner took part in his first training session as a Spurs player on Thursday less than 24 hours after finalising his temporary switch from RB Leipzig, while Dragusin was unveiled as the club's latest addition on the same day after penning a six-and-a-half-year contract until 2030.
There are still some concerns over the fitness of a number of other first-team players, though, ahead of Sunday's trip to Old Trafford, including Giovani Lo Celso and Ben Davies who were both forced off with muscle injuries in the win over Burnley.
Manor Solomon has returned to training following several months out with a knee injury, but he is not expected to feature this weekend, while Maddison (ankle), Ivan Perisic and Alejo Veliz (both knee) all remain in the treatment room.
Spurs will also have to manage without the presence of midfield duo Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma, who are away on international duty representing Senegal and Mali respectively at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Tottenham enter Sunday's contest sitting fifth in the Premier League table, just one point behind North London rivals Arsenal in fourth and eight points clear of Man United in eighth place. body check tags ::
