Tottenham were dealt a major injury blow just minutes before kicking off against Aston Villa with captain Cristian Romero ruled out.
Romero had been named in Thomas Frank’s starting line-up for Spurs’ return to action after the international break at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
But after sustaining an issue in the warm-up, the Argentina defender was scratched from the squad.
“Kevin Danso will replace Cristian Romero in the starting line-up,” Tottenham posted on social media 19 minutes before kick off. “Micky van de Ven will now captain the side this afternoon.”
Romero had taken over the club captaincy from the departed Son Heung Min at the start of the season having established himself as a consistent top performer since arriving in north London.
He had forged a productive partnership with Dutchman Micky van de Ven, with Danso forced to deputise having complete a permanent summer switch from Lens.
Romero had started Argentina’s friendly win over Venezuela last weekend, though was an unused substitute in the 6-0 success against Puerto Rico on Wednesday.
He was shown sat on the bench watching as his club colleagues returned to Premier League football strongly with a goal inside the first five minutes from Rodrigo Bentancur.
