Enter Postecoglou hope Cristian Romero is almost over the toe and hamstring problem that has hampered the Argentine in recent weeks but says Tottenham will give the defender time to return to 100 percent fitness.

There comes Romero, who this week became a father for the second time miss Spurs’ visit to Manchester City on Saturday as he continues to recover from a toe injury and a tight hamstring.

He was forced off in the second half of the Carabao Cup wins over City and Aston Villa, before being substituted at half-time of Argentina’s game against Paraguay last week.

Spurs will also be without Micky van de Ven this weekend, leaving Postecoglou without his first-choice centre-backs at the Etihad Stadium for the second year running, but the head coach says the club would rather allow Romero to return to full fitness than risk him against City.

“With us he hasn’t been fully fit for probably two or three weeks,” Postecoglou said. “He’s kind of fought through it because that’s the kind of character (he is) … and we needed him in a way, but I think when he passed away he realized that this is not healing the way we want the.

“It’s a couple of separate issues. And I talked to him and said, ‘Look, take a break. We need you 100 percent fit.” As much as we’d love to have him out there, I think it’s best for him that he gets over everything. He also gave birth to his daughter this week, which is also a major event in his life.

“I think it’s important for him to take a break and just spend some time with his family. I think it’s the right thing for him to do.

“One was obviously the knock on his toe which has been a little bit awkward and before that he had a bit of a tight hamstring,” Postecoglou added.

“It wasn’t a hamstring injury but he was tight. So we’re being careful with him. He’s kind of over both now. But we’re waiting, instead of throwing him back this weekend. He’d had the birth of his daughter as well, it just felt like we’re going to take this time to get him 100 percent.”

Romero missed Argentina’s win over Peru on Wednesday after coming off against Paraguay and Postecoglou admitted he had doubts the 26-year-old would fly to South America on international duty, while insisting he has not returned in a worse condition.

“Yes, you do (have concerns),” Postecoglou said. “But there’s always a line there, especially with someone like Romero where you have to trust his judgment as well. He understands the responsibility he has.

“Look, he didn’t make it worse. He just didn’t feel he could perform at the level he wanted to so that’s why he came off at half-time. If anything, when he came back, it’s actually improved .

“So it hasn’t made the situation worse for him. I just think he needs to get his body right so he can be at his best.”

Postecoglou, meanwhile, has welcomed Pep Guardiola’s decision to extend his contract as Manchester City manager for two more seasons.

The Catalan, whose previous deal expired at the end of this term, has led City to the title in six of the last seven seasons but Postecoglou says he is motivated by the challenge of finishing ahead of him.

Asked if part of him wanted Guardiola to line up to open up the league, Postecoglou said: “I look at it the other way.

“I say, ‘what if you knock him off’. That would be something. I’m at the stage in my life where I’d rather have the chance to knock him off than miss that opportunity. When greatness is around, you want to be around it and hopefully it challenges you to be so too.

“It’s a big challenge. But I love the fact that there’s a huge goal out there that can seem insurmountable. It raises my level and keeps me going.

“I had the experience of leveling up in the sport in Australia and it’s great from a competitive point of view because everyone thinks they can win.

“But after a while I used to get frustrated with it because excellence tends to be limited at a certain point. It’s up to everyone else to bridge that gap (to City). I love the challenge of it and I would never see it as a bad Thing.”