Tottenham Hotspur faced Newcastle United in a pre-season friendly, which ended 1-1. It was likely Son Heung-min’s last game as a Spurs player and he started it, wearing the captain’s armband.
Brennan Johnson scored an early goal to give Spurs the lead, while Harvey Barnes equalised for the Magpies. However, that was not the talking point for Spurs fans, whose worst fears came true with regards to James Maddison.
The English attacking midfielder has suffered a series of muscular injuries in recent seasons and he was brought in as a late substitute against Newcastle United. Soon after coming on, he pulled up and off the ball and fell to the ground.
As revealed by the [Standard](https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/james-maddison-injury-tottenham-b1241288.html), the Tottenham captain then had to be stretchered off the pitch. Maddison covered his face in horror, indicating that his might be an injury that could keep him out for a long time.
The other option Spurs have to play as an attacking midfielder, Dejan Kulusevski, is also injured and expected to miss the start of the season. This puts Thomas Frank in a bit of a pickle on who to trust as the #10 going into the new season.
Against Newcastle United, Pape Matar Sarr started in that role and Mohammed Kudus is another option who knows how to play there. Of course, there is also the option of signing a new attacking midfielder before the summer transfer window slams shut.
However, Maddison’s injury against Newcastle undoubtedly brings back some bad memories for Spurs fans. It almost feels like a Deja vu considering the number of injuries players at the N17 suffered throughout the course of the last campaign.
https://twitter.com/footballontnt/status/1951991019349610880
It was one of the major reasons Ange Postecoglou could enjoy absolutely no consistency and the team performed quite terribly in the Premier League. Now, it looks like history could repeat itself all over again.
Maddison’s injury is yet another setback that doesn’t allow the Englishman to live up to his true potential. At this rate, it does feel like the 28-year-old would never get there, considering the number of times his body is giving up on him.
The coming days should provide further clarity on the extent of Maddison’s injury and how long he is expected to be out for. Spurs fans would fear the worst but hope against hope and let’s wait and see how it plays out.