James Maddison should be available for selection again this weekend against Everton, and that is one genuine lift for Tottenham after a rough opening to the season. Spurs have taken just one point from their first three Premier League games and are yet to score, with Tottenham vs Everton now carrying extra weight.
Maddison's absence started on the opening weekend, when he suffered a slight shoulder fracture as a substitute at Brentford. Roberto De Zerbi said of the midfielder: "But I think he’s in a good way. It’s going very well. I already said the medical staff is very high level." He also added: "We can be positive with him. I’m looking forward to having Deki in the squad."
Maddison's return and Tottenham's attack
The case for his return is not hard to make. Maddison has 16 goals and 21 assists in 79 Tottenham games, so Spurs are not just getting a midfielder back, they are getting one of their best sources of end product. In a side that has failed to score in its first three league matches, that is the sort of absence you feel immediately.
There is still a wider injury headache. De Zerbi said D. Kulusevski started training at the beginning of the week before a small problem stopped him again, which underlines how fragile Tottenham's attacking options still are. Maddison is expected in the squad, not the starting line-up, but even that would give Spurs a better chance of looking like themselves against Everton.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →
