James Maddison was carried off the pitch during Tottenham Hotspur’s friendly with Newcastle United in Seoul, South Korea on Sunday and the worst fears of Spurs fans has now been confirmed.
Tottenham Hotspur released a statement on Thursday confirming that Maddison has a ruptured ACL in his right knee and will undergo surgery.
James Maddison injury news latest
“We can confirm that James Maddison will undergo surgery for a ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his right knee. His surgery will take place in the coming days and, following that, James will then begin his rehabilitation with our medical team.
“Everyone at Tottenham Hotspur wishes James a full and speedy recovery. We will be supporting him every step of the way.”
What happened?
Maddison, 28, came off the bench in the second half of the friendly but was substituted just 11 minutes later after going down off the ball.
Spurs boss Thomas Frank, Maddison’s teammates and all of the staff looked very concerned about Maddison’s injury. He had only just returned from the knee injury he suffered in early May and was building up his minutes in preseason as he returned to fitness.
The England international appeared to be agony as he hobbled around and then fell to the floor as he grabbed his right knee. He was treated on the pitch before being carried off on a stretcher in tears.
Spurs boss Thomas Frank spoke after the game in South Korea about James Maddison’s injury and said it “looks like a bad injury” and added it was a “brutal” moment. Frank also confirmed the injury was to the same knee Maddison injured last season, as the Spurs attacker was seen leaving the stadium on crutches.
What next for Maddison, Spurs?
There is now a long road to recovery coming up for Maddison as he will miss the majority of the 2025-26 Premier League season.
With the 2026 World Cup coming up next summer, Maddison’s chances of forcing his way in to Thomas Tuchel’s squad have now taken a huge hit too.
For Spurs, they now have a massive hole in their attacking midfield spots as Maddison’s injury came at the same time Heung-min Son departed the club. They’ve been linked with a loan move for Jack Grealish, which makes a lot of sense, and his arrival would certainly plug the gap left by Maddison’s injury.
