Postecoglou explains Cuti Romero absence from Tottenham friendly and tour

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has revealed why Cristian Romero and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg did not attend the post-season friendly against Newcastle in Melbourne.

The defender and midfielder were the only two apparently healthy senior players who did not go, although Romero has since returned to Argentina, while Hojbjerg was ruled out due to a fitness issue.

Postecoglou informed reporters that Cuti [Romero] is more for personal reasons. “He needs to fly back to Argentina.”

See also Pundit thinks Tottenham are underpaying for new star man

“Pierre had an ailment heading into the previous game; he was sort of hit-and-miss, and he pulled up sore afterward.

“Again, since we were going directly on an aircraft, it didn’t make sense to bring men like that along for such a lengthy travel.

“Everyone else got through unscathed [against Sheffield United], so we’ll have a full compliment from the squad we took away and some young players as well who will get some game time.”

See also A tough match: Chris Sutton has now predicted the result of Tottenham's game against Fulham