James Maddison has spoken out after a viral video sparked concern about his physical condition during recovery from a serious knee injury.
The midfielder suffered an ACL injury in a pre-season clash with Newcastle United during Spurs’ tour of South Korea last summer. As a result, he has missed the entire 2025/26 campaign and is set to return under a third manager, following Roberto De Zerbi’s recent appointment. De Zerbi replaced Igor Tudor, who had earlier taken over from Thomas Frank.
Maddison is pushing to return before the season ends to help Tottenham Hotspur in their fight to avoid relegation, with the team sitting just one point above the drop zone with seven games left.
Fans grew worried after a training video circulated online, with some suggesting he had lost significant muscle mass, particularly in his legs. However, Maddison quickly responded by posting a new clip showing both legs appearing evenly developed. He jokingly captioned it: “Admin needs to work on the angles of videoing… @spursofficial.”
Last month, former boss Tudor offered an encouraging update, revealing that Maddison had resumed ball work and sprinting, and remained positive in his recovery.
De Zerbi has yet to confirm whether the 29-year-old will feature again this season, though he is expected to address the situation soon. Spurs, currently 17th in the Premier League, face a tense run-in with fixtures against Sunderland, Brighton, Wolves, Aston Villa, Leeds, Chelsea, and Everton as they battle to stay up.
