Tottenham Hotspur will be sweating on the fitness of one of their key players heading into this weekend...

What's the latest?

The north London outfit host Leeds United on Sunday following the final international break of the year but they may well be without Cristian Romero after he picked up a suspected hamstring problem for Argentina in their draw with Brazil on Tuesday evening.

He will be assessed at Hotspur Way upon his return but the Evening Standard believe him to be a 'major doubt' to make the match.

The 23-year-old centre-back was replaced early in the second half as Lionel Scaloni's side qualified for the 2022 World Cup.

A bad hamstring strain could rule the Argentina international out for at least three weeks, so it seems unlikely he will be fit to play this weekend.

Major blow

Romero, who joined on an initial loan deal from Atalanta this summer, has certainly been a crucial man for the Lilywhites so far this season.

He has started seven of their 11 league games, as well as both of Conte's first two matches in charge - a win at Vitesse in the Europa Conference League, where he was sent off, and the 0-0 draw with Everton right before the break.

[snack-amp-story url = "https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-latest-news-updates-transfers-antonio-conte-thfc" title="Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!"]

The Athletic's Charlie Eccelshare suggested that his absence would be a "major blow" to Spurs and it's hard to disagree with such claims.

Romero was judged favourably in football.london reporter Alasdair Gold's player ratings for the season so far, earning a 7.5/10, which was bettered by only one player (Oliver Skipp, 8/10).

The combination of his immense ball-playing ability and sheer aggression makes him a frightening prospect to come up against but now Conte will have to turn to the error-prone Davinson Sanchez, academy gem Japhet Tanganga or the rarely-seen Joe Rodon.

None of whom have started under the Italian.

Spurs have endured defensive frailties for quite some time and losing their best centre-back will certainly impact their chances of success this weekend.

Conte could quite rightly be furious with these developments should Romero miss out on the tough test of Leeds on Sunday.

AND in other news, £45m-rated "monster" open to Spurs move in January, he'd be Conte's dream 1st signing...