Tottenham get huge injury boost as James Maddison posts emotional statement about teammate

James Maddison has sent a heartfelt message to Radu Dragusin following his first match minutes in nine months during a behind-closed-doors friendly on Wednesday. The Tottenham defender has been absent since January with a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but has now taken a huge step towards a competitive return.

The Romania international re-joined team training several weeks ago,though Spurs have been carefully managing his return having missed such a significant period.

"He's fully integrated into training now," head coach Thomas Frank admitted in late October. "An ACL [injury] is not tricky, but it's such a big injury, because you're out for nine months, so you need to build strength in the knee. He is definitely getting closer to being involved. I think we plan to play him in a friendly [during the November break], as I understand it."

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Dragusin also training with his national team has been mooted, despite the fact he will not feature in World Cup qualifiers against Bosnia and Herzegovina and San Marino.

The initial part of Tottenhan's plan has come to fruition at Hotspur Way with Dragusin playing the second 45 minutes of a friendly vs Leyton Orient. Maddison was in attendance for his comeback with the Spurs midfielder sharing a warm embrace with Dragusin before he took to the pitch.

Maddison later wrote to Instagram: "Day off for me today. But couldn't miss Radu's first minutes back after 9 months. I've seen first-hand how hard this man has worked to be in that position ready to play again today. His attitude honest to god keeps me so motivated [arm flexed emoji]. Proud of ya mush [white heart emoji]."

Dragusin, who also posted to social media about his return, directly replied to Maddison stating: "Means a lot mate." The latter has also suffered a severe knee injury and is just over three months into his own comeback with Frank hopeful he can play at some point this season.

Tottenham have been absolutely battered by injuries over these last few months with Dejan Kulusevski another longer-term absentee - having undergone knee surgery in May. Elsewhere, Dominic Solanke and Ben Davies have barely played this season with ankle and thigh issues, respectively.

Yves Bissouma, Archie Gray and Kota Takai are also absent right now, and Lucas Bergvall has missed the last two games due to concussion. Mohammed Kudus was unavailable for the 2-2 draw against Manchester United, but is expected back after the international break.

One player unlikely to feature in the impending North London Derby is Randal Kolo Muani. He was withdrawn at half-time this past weekend with it later revealed he has a fractured jaw following a inadvertent collision with his opponent Harry Maguire.

There were also one or two concerns surrounding Cristian Romero after he was also substituted after receiving treatment - but Frank later confirmed it was fatigue. He has since joined up with Argentina for friendlies against Angola and Australia.