James Maddison to miss majority of season as Tottenham learn devastating injury blow

Tottenham Hotspur playmaker James Maddison looks set to miss the bulk of the season with an ACL injury. The England international suffered the setback in pre-season, with such an injury usually keeping players out for the best part of a year.

Fellow Premier League player Rodri missed eight months after an ACL tear last season which required surgery. The Manchester City star returned at the tail end of the campaign after being forced off in an early season match against Arsenal.

Maddison was playing for Spurs in a pre-season friendly against Newcastle when he went down injured and was stretchered off. Thomas Frank confirmed the injury was to the same knee which forced him to miss the team's Europa League final in May, and now the club have confirmed it's an ACL issue which will require surgery.

"We can confirm that James Maddison will undergo surgery for a ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his right knee," Spurs said in a statement. "The 28-year-old midfielder suffered the injury during our pre-season friendly against Newcastle United on Sunday in Seoul.

"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."

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“We're pretty sure it was the same knee he injured before," Frank said after the Newcastle game. The player was seen leaving on crutches, and manager Frank elaborated on the tough situation.

“Yeah, it's like in life and football, I think sometimes life and football can be brutal, but also sometimes very beautiful. So I think it was brutal in what happened to to Madders," he said. "It looks like a bad injury. Of course we don't know exactly the status on it. It didn't look good."

The injury also puts Maddison's World Cup involvement in doubt. The seven-cap England international has yet to play for the national team since Thomas Tuchel took over in the dugout, but might have hoped a big season could have put him back in the manager's thoughts.

Spurs will now need to decide whether to dip into the transfer market for a replacement. Morgan Gibbs-White and Ebere Eze have both been of interest in the past, while there have been suggestions they could move for Harvey Elliott as RB Leipzig weigh up a move for the Liverpool star.

The injury news comes just one day after Spurs confirmed the departure of captain Son Heung-min. South Korea forward Son has moved to Los Angeles FC in a Major League Soccer record deal, worth roughly £19.5million.

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