Thomas Frank Defends Cristian Romero Amid Controversial Social Media Post

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has come to the defense of captain Cristian Romero, following a social media post in which Romero accused certain individuals at the club of spreading “lies.”

This post, which included an apology to fans and has since been modified, was made in the aftermath of Tottenham’s 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth on Wednesday. In his Instagram statement, Romero expressed his frustration, stating, “At times like this, it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don’t — as has been the case for several years now. They only show up when things are going well.”

Initially, the post included the line: “They only show up when things are going well, to tell a few lies.”

As Tottenham prepares for their FA Cup match against Aston Villa on Saturday, Frank acknowledged that while Romero’s post was indeed a “mistake,” he remains supportive of his captain. “Since becoming captain, Romero has done many things right. Although he is an experienced player, he is still a young leader,” Frank remarked.

“I was quite pleased with his performance last night; he displayed true leadership in several instances during the match. At half-time, when we were trailing 2-1, he encouraged the team to keep believing and to continue executing the right strategies. However, as a young leader, sometimes mistakes happen, and it’s important to keep such matters internal.”

Frank also noted that he and sporting director Johan Lange had a productive discussion with Romero earlier in the day, the details of which they would keep private.

In relation to player injuries, Frank mentioned that they are still evaluating the severity of various injuries sustained during the match against Bournemouth, including those to Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall. “Lucas is being assessed today; we expect to have more information later on. Rodri has a hamstring injury, which appears to be more serious, but we are still determining the extent of it,” Frank stated.

“Mohammed Kudus’ injury is more significant, affecting both the tendon and quad, and we do not anticipate his return until after the March international break. As for Dejan Kulusevski, his situation is complicated. If anyone can recover quickly, it’s Deki. The priority is to alleviate the pain in his knee; he received an injection 10 days ago, and we should know in 3-4 weeks whether that treatment has been effective, enabling him to return to training on the pitch.”