James Maddison is expected to feature for Tottenham when they face Crystal Palace on Saturday night.
Roberto De Zerbi says “special” James Maddison has recovered from an injury scare and is backing the Tottenham star to give Crystal Palace a scare on Halloween night.
Maddison suffered the injury in last weekend’s win at Chelsea, which came just five days after scoring a thunderous goal against Coventry to mark his first Premier League start in nearly 18 months.
The England international has had a tough time with injuries and Spurs managed his return from an ACL injury. His replacement last Saturday looked like another setback, but De Zerbi allayed those fears and emphasized his importance in the squad.
He said: “James is ready. This week he didn’t work as well as other players, but for tomorrow he is ready and he is a special player for us. He is a special player because of his character and he has special characteristics.
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“For James or players coming off a long injury, they have to work harder than other players, but he’s had four or five weeks now where he’s been working very hard and consistently.
“So it’s not a problem if he misses two days (of training), but then we have to analyze if we take a risk. If we take a risk like Pedro Porro (Aston Villa) or (Dejan) Kulusevski.
“We are lucky to have a great squad and it is important not to risk new injuries.”
Destiny Udogie is also available for Spurs after missing the last two matches, while Mathys Tel will hope to retain his place in the starting line-up after his sensational solo goal at Stamford Bridge.
The young Frenchman has made a successful start to his Spurs career, but De Zerbi hopes he can start now.
He added: “I’m proud and I’m happy, but first of all for him because I love working for players, improving players. I missed a lot of chances in my career to become a better player.
“The main focus of my job is to work on improving the players. Matys works hard. He’s a smart guy with a lot of potential. I’m here to help my players.”
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