James Maddison sparked fresh injury concerns after being sent off in Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday.
James Maddison has spoken out on social media after injury concerns resurfaced during Tottenham’s win over Chelsea. The midfielder was sent off shortly after the restart and looked visibly down as he left the pitch, showing support from the Chelsea players.
Referee Chris Kavanagh stopped play minutes into the second half after Maddison went down in discomfort. Spurs’ medical staff quickly assessed the midfielder before deciding he could not continue, prompting his substitution.
The setback came just days after Maddison made his first start in almost 18 months following a lengthy recovery from a serious knee problem. The midfielder first injured his knee in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt before tearing his ACL in pre-season.
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Those problems limited him to short-term substitute appearances towards the end of last season, with Maddison often struggling to reach full sharpness as Roberto De Zerbi looked for inspiration during Spurs’ battle to avoid relegation.
However, the 29-year-old looked closer to his best against his former club Coventry City, putting in an impressive display and scoring a superb goal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before being withdrawn midway through the second half.
Despite a similar situation at Stamford Bridge, Maddison took to social media to share pictures from the match as he celebrated his side’s derby victory over their London rivals.
Accompanying the footage, Maddison simply wrote “Oh when the Spurs”, a reference to the club’s famous song.
He did not mention the potential injury, although his silence gives little indication of how serious the matter is. Maddison’s partner Kennedy Alexa was among thousands of people who commented on the post: “Proud of you.”
Spurs supporters also flooded the comments section, with some expressing concern about his fitness with some writing “hope you’re ok” while others pointed out that Spurs had won both matches he started.
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Speaking after the match, Spurs head coach De Zerbi told Sky Sports that he hopes Maddison’s injury is not serious: “James, who loves football, loves Maddison. He is a special player.
“I said in front of everyone in the dressing room, James, tell me the problem because we need you. We need you on the pitch, we need you everywhere because it’s very important for us.
“I hope it’s not a big problem. We have to have a medical tomorrow. I hope it’s not a big problem because he’s a special player for us. We need him.”