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Thomas Frank There are no doubts over the fitness of Tottenham captain Christian Romero’s return and believes his availability means he can play five matches at Chelsea’s home ground.
Romero has not appeared for Spurs since the beginning of October due to an adductor problem, but he was declared fit for Saturday. London Derby.
This brings a sense of déjà vu as Romero returned for this match last December and missed three months of action.
Frank said: “The positive news is that Romero, destiny (industry) and Wilson (Odobert) are available for selection for Saturday.
“I’m very conscious of trying to be able to make the best possible decisions. Of course in the end I’ll get a lot of information from the medical staff, the performance staff, but in the end it’s always on me.
“If a player breaks down, it’s on me. It’s not on the medical staff, not on the performance staff, it’s always on me.”
“I make a decision, I get all the information and then I have to make a hard choice or a courageous choice or an easy choice, so that’s it.
“If Romero was fit enough, he would have been involved on Wednesday (against Newcastle), but he is ready to be involved and let’s see how he is.”
Kevin Denso has impressed as well as stand-in captain mickey van de ven Since Romero withdrew from practice before a 2–1 defeat to Aston Villa on 19 October.
Romero’s return opens the possibility that Spurs could switch to a back five, which worked successfully against Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup and is a formation that has caused Chelsea problems recently.
Asked about the system, Frank said: “Yeah, I would say bringing him back opens the door.
“We’ve got Destiny back as well, so that’s a positive too. It was a bit more of a challenge against Newcastle where we had a bit less options, but I thought we performed well in a number of areas.”
Chelsea have won the last four meetings with Tottenham, including two memorable encounters in the N17 under Frank’s predecessor Ange Postecoglou.
Postecoglou urged his team to play at a high level despite being reduced to nine players for the November 2023 clash, which ended in an emphatic 4-1 defeat and a thrilling seven-goal win in Chelsea’s favor last season in north London.
When Frank was asked if this derby could get this crazy, he laughed and said, “You never know.”
“It was entertaining and we’re in the entertainment business, right? I remember the first one, was it with nine-men and 4-1? Yeah, I remember that. That was crazy, but yes that’s in the past.
“Some of the games we are a part of, everyone will remember for whatever reason and hopefully we are a part of a game that everyone will remember tomorrow and we come away with a win.
“It’s a London derby between two big rivals, there’s a lot on the line and against a very good Chelsea team. It will be a very competitive and even game. Under the floodlights, it has everything to be a top game.
“We need to come out and bring the fans with us. And I’m very, very positive about coming out tomorrow and doing very well.”