TThe obvious pain and tears that Cristian Romero was unable to contain after taking a hard blow in the Premier League against Sunderland set off alarm bells and worried fans, Tottenham Hotspur and the Argentina national team ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Early on Monday morning, Kuti underwent an MRI scan which confirmed that he had injured the medial collateral ligament in his right knee. How will this affect Spurs and Albiceleste?
Romero will need several weeks to recover.
In the 64th minute of the defeat to Sunderland, Christian tried to clear the ball, but was pushed by opposition forward Brian Brobbie, causing him to collide with his own goalkeeper Antonin Kinski. Kuti hit his teammate in the head near his knee and was left lying on the ground unable to continue.
Argentine newspaper TyC Sports has confirmed that medical tests have revealed that the defender has damaged the lateral ligament in his right foot, which would require a recovery period of six to eight weeks under normal circumstances.
It’s bittersweet news for the 27-year-old defender, who could have sustained a more serious injury, but will now miss the rest of the season at Tottenham and help his team-mates escape the relegation zone. Spurs remain in 18th place with 30 points, with just over a month left in the season, which ends on May 24th.
Fortunately for Argentina and Kuti himself, the injury will not prevent him from taking part in the World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada from June 11th to July 19th, and he should be able to make it just in time. He will arrive without game practice and will have to race against time to get back to top form, but his spot on Scaloni’s roster is not in jeopardy.
Argentina is scheduled to play two friendlies in June before the start of the World Cup, against Honduras at Kyle Field on June 6th and against Iceland at Jordan Haare Stadium on June 9th. However, his participation in these games will depend on his recovery, and it is unlikely that he will be able to participate.
Meanwhile, Albiceleste will make his tournament debut on June 16 against Algeria at Kansas City Stadium. They will then face Austria on Monday the 22nd and Jordan on Saturday the 27th at Dallas Stadium.
