Tottenham Hotspur have been dealt a big injury blow ahead of their trip to Nottingham Forest this afternoon.

What's the latest?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference (via The Athletic), Antonio Conte revealed that, despite previous reports suggesting that Cristian Romero had made himself available for the visit to the City Ground this weekend, the 24-year-old will not be involved against Steve Cooper's side.

Regarding the current condition of the Argentina international, Conte said: "Cuti's recovery is going very well. I think at the start of next week [he will] start to have the training session with the rest of the team, but for this game, [he is] not available."

Conte will be gutted

Tottenham are currently well-stocked across their three-man backline, but considering just how impressive Romero has been for Conte ever since the Italian's arrival at the club last November, the continued absence of the Argentine for the trip to Nottingham is sure to have left the 52-year-old gutted.

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Indeed, over his 22 Premier League appearances in 2021/22, the £59m-rated defender was in devastating form, helping Spurs to keep five clean sheets, in addition to making 2.8 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 3.3 clearances and winning 5.9 duels (at a success rate of 62%) per game.

These metrics saw the £165k-per-week centre-back average an astonishing SofaScore match rating of 7.15, not only ranking him as Tottenham's sixth-best player in the league but also as the joint 31st-best performer in the top flight as a whole.

Prior to his recent injury, the 24-year-old had continued this impressive form into the current campaign, making 3.5 tackles, one interception and 3.5 clearances and winning eight duels (at a success rate of 64%) over his two league outings this season. These returns have seen the former Atalanta star average an eye-catching SofaScore match rating of 7.05.

As such, it is clear to see that the unavailability of the Argentine will come as a big blow to Tottenham's chances of leaving the City Ground with all three points this afternoon, with anything but a win against promoted Forest sure to leave Conte disappointed.