James Maddison Faces New Injury Setback for Tottenham
Roberto De Zerbi has been trying to wrap James Maddison in cotton wool all summer. Now he has another setback to manage.
The Tottenham playmaker, carefully eased back after major knee surgery, has picked up a fresh problem – this time to his shoulder – in the very first week of the new season.
Maddison suffers new knock after long lay-off
Maddison barely featured in pre-season as De Zerbi refused to gamble with a player who lost most of last year to a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament suffered in the summer. The plan was patience, controlled minutes, no risks.
He finally made it back onto a Premier League pitch at the weekend, named among the substitutes for Spurs’ opening game and sent on for Mikey Moore for the final 22 minutes of a bruising 3-0 defeat at Brentford.
Those minutes brought more bad news. The 29-year-old landed awkwardly on his shoulder during his cameo and needed assessment afterwards.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup second-round tie against Charlton in north London, De Zerbi confirmed the new issue but played down the severity.
“Maddison suffered a small injury in his shoulder,” he said, describing it as a minor problem.
Kudus still out, but leadership returns on the bench
There is no immediate return for Mohammed Kudus. The Ghanaian forward, who has been out since early January with a quad injury, is still short of the level De Zerbi demands.
The head coach made it clear Kudus is “not yet ready” to feature as he continues to build back from that long lay-off.
Tottenham will at least have their new captain back in the matchday squad. Micky van de Ven, who did not play a single minute in pre-season after his World Cup run with the Netherlands and then missed the Brentford defeat with a minor issue, will be among the substitutes against Charlton.
Vice-captain Pedro Porro is set for the same role. The right-back also sat out pre-season and the Brentford game while he recovered full fitness following Spain’s World Cup triumph in North America earlier in the summer.
Savio primed for debut, Solanke to lead the line
There will be a new face on show. Savio is in line to make his Tottenham debut after completing an £85million move from Manchester City on Tuesday, a marquee arrival expected to inject pace and unpredictability into De Zerbi’s attack.
Up front, Dominic Solanke has been told to expect a start. The striker is set to lead the line, with teenager Luca Williams-Barnett named on the bench as part of a youthful supporting cast.
Injury setbacks, returning leaders, a record signing ready to be unleashed – De Zerbi’s Tottenham are already juggling storylines. Charlton will find out on Wednesday night how quickly this reshaped side can turn that chaos into control.
