SPURS LOSE ROMERO FOR SURVIVAL FIGHT

TOUGH TO TAKE Cristian Romero exits the pitch in tears with his season-ending injury on Sunday

- By ALASDAIR GOLD

CRISTIAN ROMERO will miss the final six games of Tottenham's battle to stay in the Premier League.

In a major blow to new Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi, an MRI scan yesterday showed that his captain injured the medial collateral ligament in his right knee during Sunday's defeat at Sunderland in the Italian's debut in the dugout.

Romero, 27, was shoved into the onrushing Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky by Black Cats striker Brian Brobbey and his knee collided with the Czech's head.

The Spurs skipper hobbled off the pitch in floods of tears as he realised something was clearly wrong inside his knee.