James Maddison was stretchered off during the last moments of Tottenham’s friendly match against Newcastle in South Korea, throwing the team’s plans for the next Premier League season into utter chaos. Maddison, who was sidelined for the entirety of the previous season, including the Europa League final, fell to the ground in a heap after indicating to the bench that he needed to leave.
While being carried off by medical staff, the England international appeared to be in considerable discomfort, which alarmed Tottenham bench spectators, including Son Heung-min, who recently declared he was leaving the team.
Maddison Suffers Pre-Season Injury
The challenge that led to the injury appeared rather innocuous
When Newcastle had possession of the ball on the right side, Maddison’s injury seemed to result from the midfielder’s attempt to close down the ball. When the Swede plays the ball forward, Maddison can be seen flying in the air and then hobbling on one foot while indicating to the bench that he is hurt. The Englishman appears OK as he goes in for a challenge with Anthony Elanga.
It’s unknown if Maddison’s injury was caused by Elanga’s contact with him as he was playing the ball or if the former Leicester player’s abrupt change of direction caused him to twitch a muscle or ligament. Before medical personnel intervened, the 28-year-old was also saw rolling on the ground with his head in his hands.
Due to his recent injury struggles, the former Norwich player missed two stints of the 2024–25 season, the last of which prevented him from competing in the Europa League final.
Speaking post-match, Spurs manager Thomas Frank confirmed that the issue is the same knee that Maddison injured last campaign, saying it looked like a ‘bad’ and ‘brutal’ injury.
Spurs and Frank, who is already concerned about Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke’s fitness, couldn’t have timed the injury worse. The timing of both injuries and the effect they have had on their respective preseason training mean that Spurs may be without both of them when they play PSG in the UEFA Super Cup on August 13th, even if the former is anticipated to return shortly.
In the meanwhile, if Maddison is poised for a lengthy stint out, there may be even more pressure on new acquisition Mohamed Kudus to lead the Spurs attack because Son’s exit is also impending.
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