Spurs in talks with South American countries over releasing of players early

Argentine pair Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero, Colombia’s Davinson Sanchez and Brazilian defender Emerson Royal have been called up for their countries’ upcoming World Cup qualifying triple-headers.

Under new rules for players who travel to red zone countries during the international break, the quartet, who have all been double-jabbed, will be able to train with the rest of the Spurs squad and play matches during a 10-day quarantine at the club’s training ground when they return.

But Spurs still face being without them for their Premier League game against Newcastle on Sunday, October 17 unless their national associations agree to an early release.

Argentina, Brazil and Colombia play the last of their three qualifiers late on the Thursday night or in the early hours of Friday morning, so the quartet would all be likely to miss the trip to St. James’ Park unless they are allowed to return to London after the second match.

Colombia host Brazil in their second qualifier late on Sunday night, while Argentina host neighbours Uruguay in the early hours of Monday morning.

Last month, Spurs came to an agreement with the Argentine and Colombian national associations to release Lo Celso, Romero and Sanchez after two matches but the trio still missed two club games during 10 days’ training in green-list Croatia to avoid being forced into a UK quarantine hotel.

Summer signings Romero and Royal both impressed as Spurs got back to winning ways against Aston Villa on Sunday, while Lo Celso came off the bench in the second half and Sanchez was an unused substitute.

Speaking after the match, Spurs head coach Nuno Espirito Santo confirmed he was expected minimal disruption to the squad on the quartet’s return.

“They will go and they will return in different situations [to last month],” Nuno said. “They will have to isolate, but we are fortunate enough to have the [Player] Lodge and work normally with the team.”