The international break is coming to an end and the Tottenham training sessions at Hotspur Way are beginning to intensify.
Spurs return to Premier League action on Sunday with plenty to play for as they welcome Newcastle United to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Antonio Conte's side enter the game in fifth place in the table, just three points off fourth-placed north London rivals Arsenal.
The top four battle is well and truly on and Conte has begun the preparations for the visit of Eddie Howe's men this weekend. Tottenham released a whole host of photos from the training session that took place at the club's Hotspur Way training complex on Wednesday and here are five things we spotted among the images.
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Fit and fresh Romero
It's a rare sight for Tottenham - Cristian Romero heading off with Argentina only for the centre-back to return available and fresh for the matches ahead.
For the 23-year-old has either been injured, quarantining or involved in an international farce after his trips with his national side since arriving at Spurs.
However, this time, despite Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni calling him up while being banned for two matches, FIFA did not relent on his suspension and instead Romero simply had a trip back to his homeland, a couple of training sessions and then an early return to the UK without any game time.
He returned to Hotspur Way on Tuesday and in the training photos from the following day's session looked to be in good spirits with Emerson Royal leaping on his and Sergio Reguilon's backs for a joint piggy back.
Romero also showed his previous knee and hamstring international injuries this season look to be behind him with a some big leaps over hurdles during fitness drills.
South American Teqball battles
Romero was also involved in what appeared to be a South America vs UK game of Teqball - a football version of table tennis - on Wednesday.
Romero paired up with Lucas Moura to take on development squad players Jamie Bowden and Tobi Omole in a game on the big curved table located just outside the exit to the training pitches from the first team building.
From the look on Lucas' face as he gave the photographer a big thumbs up as they headed off inside, the South Americans may just have got the upper hand in the game.
Vocal Gianluca
Conte was shown dishing out instructions to the players but he was not alone in having a big voice on the Hotspur Way training pitches.
His bespectacled brother Gianluca is a similarly passionate chap and the club's technical and analytics coach was seen with a rolled up scroll of paper in his hand and pointing and gesturing to various players to carry out what he wanted.
The head coach's brother is to be found during matches up in the stands at stadiums, watching the tactical layout of the match and often recording it on his tablet in order to quickly show his sibling moments that need addressing at half-time or after the game.
football.london once saw him delivering a passionate lecture to a fellow analyst in a corridor at half-time about how Tottenham had conceded a goal during the 45 minutes they had just witnessed.
Not to be outdone on Wednesday, assistant head coach Cristian Stellini also got in on the pointing and shouting, shown giving individual instructions to Lucas Moura as well as Harry Winks at different points in the session.
First team coach Ryan Mason was also shown involved in conversations about the session with both fellow coaches.
Academy players involved
The absence of the club's international stars on Wednesday following their midweek exploits the previous day meant that Spurs' development squad players continue to bolster the squad.
Many such as Bowden, Omole and Harvey White are now regular participants in first team training sessions, but there was also a chance for 18-year-old Norwegian goalkeeper Isak Solberg to get more exposure to life at the top and working with Spurs' goalkeeping coach Marco Savorani.
Academy product Brandon Austin, now 23, was also shown getting some one to one advice from Conte following his new contract this week.
The absentees and an Oliver Skipp update
As these photos were taken on Wednesday, rather than on Thursday, it meant all of the international players would have been returning at different points during the day and most would have either had a rest day from work or gone through recovery sessions.
That's because the club had 21 players involved in international fixtures on Tuesday, leaving Eric Dier, Reguilon, Romero, Emerson, Winks and Lucas as the senior professionals involved in the session.
There was no sign in the photos of Ben Davies, who returned from Wales duty early as a precaution with a tight quad muscle, Oliver Skipp, who has been out with his pelvic problem, Ryan Sessegnon, who has a hamstring injury, or Japhet Tanganga, who is out until the summer following surgery on his knee.
football.london understands that Skipp's problem is continuing to improve and the 21-year-old midfielder is working outdoors. However, he is still doing so on his own with sports science staff rather than with his team-mates and there is an expectation that he could be around two weeks from a return to first team action in mid-April.
Sessegnon could be back around the same time, with Conte having said just before the international break began that he would have another scan in four weeks to see if he was ready to return.
