London, Sep 25 (IANS): Cristian Romero will be unavailable for Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League opener against Qarabag on Thursday. The club confirmed via a statement that the defender and vice-captain of the team will remain suspended for the clash having been sent off in Spurs’ last UEFA match.

The Argentine picked up two yellow cards in the Round of 16 game against AC Milan in March 2023 which saw him dismissed with 13 minutes of the clash left to play and in doing so picked up a one-match ban, which he will serve on Thursday night.

Fellow defenders Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon are also ineligible. On the injury front, it was a positive update though as, bar the players currently unavailable through injury, forwards Richarlison and Wilson Odobert, their squad is available going into the clash at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

"We're looking good. Nothing from the weekend in terms of injuries, everyone pulled up really well so no issues there. Apart from the obvious absences (Cristian) Romero, (Djed) Spence and (Sergio) Reguilon who trained today but who, for different reasons, are ineligible," said Ange Postecoglu in a press conference,

Spurs will be hoping to get their European campaign off to a winning start. With the new UEFA format, every game’s significance has gone up considerably as the 36 teams that are playing in the competition will be in a league format as compared to the original groups plus knockout format. The teams that finish outside the top eight will have to play two extra games, adding to an already exhaustive calendar.

Alongside Tottenham, Manchester United will also be playing in the Europa League against FC Twente. The Red Devils will be facing Spurs on the weekend in the Premier League in a blockbuster clash.