Speaking to the press ahead of the midweek game against West Ham, Ange Postecoglou has discussed James Maddison’s injury status, and seemed to dismiss the player’s own claim that he is recovering slower than expected.
In a full midweek lineup of fixtures for the Premier League, Tottenham head into a London derby against West Ham feeling somewhat buoyed by a thrilling and hard-earned draw against Manchester City last weekend.
After three straight defeats against Chelsea, Wolves, and Aston Villa, the Lilywhites rallied to pick up a point at the home of the champions. That’s despite a severely depleted squad through injuries and suspensions, too.
Ange Postecoglou will at least have Cristian Romero back in the team for the visit of the Hammers, which should bring a sense of normality to the Tottenham lineup.
However, one key player still missing is James Maddison, who is set to be out until the New Year with an ankle injury. Speaking to Amazon Prime Video Sport, however, Maddison appeared to suggest he might be out longer than first thought.
He said: “It’s healing well, it’s a bit of a slow burner which is obviously frustrating because like you said, I started the season so well. But it’s healing, slowly but surely.
“This is probably the longest one [injury] I’ve had if it’s say three months, I’ve never really gone past that. It’s frustrating, you know what it’s like being injured, every day is tough, especially at Spurs, the training ground has got the big window so the physio room is just looking perfectly out to the training pitch watching all the lads train and prepare for the games at the minute.
“You have that helpless feeling but it’s recovering well, it’s one of them, it’s going to take a bit of time, you’ve got to just accept it and then crack on with the rehab.”
Maddison might be wrong about injury status
In his pre-match press conference (via Football.London), Postecoglou insisted we should only pay attention to what the Spurs medical team are saying about Maddison’s injury, which is to say the midfielder is recovering at a normal rate.
He said: “I’m not sure about James’ medical qualifications and whether we should trust his diagnosis in this situation. We should go with the medical staff and as far as I’m aware he’s progressing as expected.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Whether James Maddison is healing slowly or at a perfectly normal rate, we just want him back as soon as possible. He is absolutely fundamental to everything we do, and we are a far better team when he is available.