Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has revealed why he substituted centre-back Cristian Romero at half-time in Spurs' 2-1 win at home to Everton on Saturday.
Spurs went two up inside 18 minutes thanks to goals from Richarlison and Son Heung-min, but the home fans were worried at the start of the second half as Romero did not reappear.
The Argentina defender was replaced by Eric Dier and Spurs were on the back foot at times as the visitors looked for a way back into the game.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin saw a goal ruled out by VAR after 51 minutes for a foul by Andre Gomes.
The Portuguese midfielder did get Everton back into the game with a goal after 82 minutes to set up a nervy finale at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but Postecoglou's side held on for a win which takes Spurs back into the top four.
Asked after the game why he had taken off Romero, Postecoglou said: "He felt tightness in his hamstring just before half-time so we had to take him off."
The Australian manager will not want to take any chances amid a busy period of fixtures, with Spurs away to Brighton on December 28th and in action at home to Bournemouth three days later.
Tottenham are already without a number of players due to injury, including Micky van de Ven, James Maddison and Rodrigo Bentancur.
Meanwhile, Yves Bissouma and Destiny Udogie both missed Saturday's game due to suspension.
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