Good news:Postecoglou provides exciting update on James Maddison’s return at Spurs
Ange Postecoglou has admitted that James Maddison is getting closer to returning to action, revealing that he is hopeful that the attacking midfielder will be back in training before the Manchester City clash.
Since suffering an ankle injury during the London derby against Chelsea at the beginning of November, Maddison has not kicked a ball.
Despite the success of players such as Giovani Lo Celso and Dejan Kulusevski in the number ten position, Tottenham has failed to capitalize on the offensive midfielder’s ability to penetrate defenses.
A few days ago, Matt Law of The Telegraph stated on the Last Word on Spurs podcast that Maddison is not expected to be ready for the FA Cup fourth-round matchup with Manchester City on January 26.
James Maddison is getting close to a Spurs return
Postecoglou has now insisted that he is unsure about the 27-year-old’s availability for the City clash but suggested that the former Leicester star could start training with the squad ahead of that game.
When asked about Maddison’s recovery, the Tottenham boss told Football.London: “He’s getting closer. He hasn’t trained with the group yet.
“Obviously, after Man United we’ve got two weeks and I’ll be hoping between the two Manchester game he’s back training with the first team as long as there are no setbacks in that two-week window.
“No idea [if he’ll be fit to face Manchester City in the FA Cup], we’ll see. It depends when he starts training. If he
perhaps begins training early next week, but you have to wait and see how they feel and how they practice with the first squad.
“I would venture to say he should be… him and Manor Solomon are the next two that should be fairly close after that provided there are no setbacks. We’ve got three games in that week after the Man City game.”
Given that Ange frequently leans toward pessimism when estimating when injured players will return, I believe Maddison will most likely be included in the matchday squad to take on Man City and may even make an appearance on the field.
