James Maddison is close to a return from an ankle injury that has kept him out of action since the start of November, but journalist George Sessions believes Spurs fans should expect to see the playmaker on the bench for the upcoming clash with Manchester City.
Since joining Tottenham in the summer, Maddison quickly became a key figure in the squad both in terms of his playing ability, and in his role as vice-captain under new boss, Ange Postecoglou.
With three goals and six assists in 11 league games (Transfermarkt), Maddison was on fire and was pulling all the strings in the Spurs midfield at the start of the season.
However, in that chaotic defeat to Chelsea on November 6, Maddison pulled up with an ankle issue and left the field. He has been out injured ever since and Tottenham have lacked that magic spark he provides in the number 10 role.
For a while now, it has been hinted that Maddison could recover in time to face Manchester City in the FA Cup fourth round on Friday night (Telegraph). More recently, the man himself shared a photo of his boots with grass on the studs, suggesting he was back in training for Spurs.
Will Maddison start against Man City?
Now, George Sessions has offered his thoughts on whether Maddison will be in the starting line up for Tottenham on Friday, and also touched on Erling Haaland’s status for City, too.
Speaking on The Spurs Chat Podcast, Sessions said: “If I was putting my mortgage on it I’d say they’ll both be on the bench. I’m not so sure about Maddison. I saw a clip of him today getting a treatment on his ankle.
“I did speak to a medical expert and I’m trying to think of the term he used, game ready I think he said, it’s basically a device that pumps cold ice to the muscle or the part of the body it’s strapped to.”
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Hopefully, this is a situation similar to what we’ve seen with Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero recently, where the players feel ready to go and Ange gives them the nod to play. We could really do with Maddison’s creativity against City, and his leadership in the absence of Heung-min Son.