Cristian Romero punishment question answered as Thomas Frank reveals triple Tottenham fitness boost

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank highlighted the "beauty of written text" when pressed on Cristian Romero's recent social media outburst on transfer deadline day.

Spurs managed to bring in three new faces during the winter transfer window, although Conor Gallagher is the only experienced member of that trio, which also includes young left-back Souza and teenage striker James Wilson.

The day before transfer deadline day, Tottenham fought back from 2-0 down to hold Manchester City to an exhilarating 2-2 stalemate in the Premier League, but Frank had to include four academy graduates on the bench due to injuries and a lack of depth.

Captain Romero appeared to attack the Tottenham hierarchy on social media following the game, slamming the "unbelievable" and "disgraceful" circumstances that led to Spurs having only "11 players" available.

Romero has now taken aim at the board twice publicly this season, having also claimed that "other people" only appear when Tottenham are winning games to tell "lies" in a now-deleted post.

Thomas Frank: 'Cristian Romero situation has been dealt with'

Asked about Romero's rant in Thursday's press conference, Frank waxed lyrical about the Argentine's passion but admitted that he would not have done the same if he was in the defender's situation.

"I think if you want to know what he meant you have to ask him, that's the right way to answer that question," Alasdair Gold quotes Frank as saying. "Cuti is a very passionate person and leaves everything on the pitch.

"He wants to win every time and there can be an outburst. It is something we have dealt with and dealt with internally. There is a way of doing things. He has been very good at doing things. I wouldn't have done it. This is my message.

"The beauty of written text is that you can read into it and the only person who knows what it meant was Cuti. I think it shows that Cuti is extremely passionate. He wants to do everything he can with his team-mates to achieve great things."

Quizzed again on whether Romero - who has allegedly made a decision on his future - would be punished for what he said, Frank affirmed: "I can confirm that we have dealt with everything internally."

Frank also confirmed that Romero is fine for the showdown with Manchester United this weekend, having been forced to come off at half time in the draw with Man City due to an illness.

Tottenham handed triple fitness boost ahead of Man Utd test

The South American's availability could be one of three boosts for the Lilywhites, as Romero's defensive partner Micky van de Ven has recovered from the knock that has kept him out of Tottenham's last two games.

In addition, Djed Spence - who was ruled out of the Man City clash with a calf issue - is on the road to recovery and has a chance of making the cut against the Red Devils.

"Most are OK. Micky trained today, he's available for Saturday, which is good. Djed is getting closer, he'll be a little bit touch and go but there's a good chance he can be ready," Frank added.

Two-goal hero Dominic Solanke jarred his ankle in gameweek 24, but the striker affirmed after the draw that he would shake off the issue quickly, so there are no concerns about his availability.

However, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies, Richarlison and Pedro Porro are still missing for the Lilywhites, who lie 14th in the Premier League table.