Tottenham Hotspur could potentially be without both of their first-choice centre-backs when they take on Manchester City in December's mouthwatering Premier League clash.
Since Ange Postecoglou took the reins, Cristian Romero and summer signing Micky van de Ven have joined forces to shield Guglielmo Vicario and have played key roles in Spurs' run to the top of the table.
The pair unsurprisingly linked arms for Monday's London derby with Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea, although both of them left the field before Michael Oliver's whistle brought an end to a manic first half.
Romero was arguably fortunate to still be on the field after kicking out at Levi Colwill after being shrugged off the ball, with the VAR room determining that the Argentine's swipe did not amount to violent conduct.
However, the former Atalanta BC man was then made to take the walk of shame for a shocking challenge on Enzo Fernandez inside the penalty box, catching his World Cup-winning teammate high on the ankle with his studs as he attempted to clear the ball.
The game continued as Moises Caicedo lashed home from outside the area, and while the goal was chalked off for Nicolas Jackson interfering with the play from an offside position, Oliver was then sent to the monitor to analyse Romero's crunching challenge.
The referee subsequently awarded Chelsea a penalty - which Cole Palmer converted to cancel out Dejan Kulusevski's deflected opener - and Romero was made to take the walk of shame for serious foul play.
© Reuters
As a result, the centre-back is now set to serve a three-match Premier League suspension, ruling him out of next weekend's trip to Wolverhampton Wanderers, the visit of Aston Villa on November 26 and, crucially, December 3's meeting with champions Man City at the Etihad.
Following Romero's dismissal, Spurs' defensive fortunes went from bad to worse, as Van de Ven pulled up with a serious-looking injury towards the end of the half, going down in agony while holding the back of his thigh.
The Dutchman was racing back towards his own goal before pulling up and dropping to the turf, and he was unable to bear any weight on his leg as he was helped off the field by the medical team.
While Spurs fans await an official diagnosis on Van de Ven's issue, it would be a shock to see the former Wolfsburg man make the cut for the trip to the Etihad in three weeks time, leaving Postecoglou down to the bare bones at centre-back.
As things stand, Eric Dier and 18-year-old Ashley Phillips will be Tottenham's only two central options for the trip to the champions, although Emerson Royal and Ben Davies are capable of deputising in that role.
Alongside Romero and Van de Ven's withdrawals, chaos reigned supreme throughout the first half with four disallowed goals, while Reece James and Destiny Udogie also escaped red cards after VAR checks.
Udogie was only booked for a wild tackle on Raheem Sterling, but the Italian then scythed the Chelsea man down again in the second half as Spurs went down to nine men, also ruling him out of the clash with Wolves next weekend.
Ben Knapton
