James Maddison suffered a fractured shoulder after coming off the bench in Tottenham's miserable 3-0 defeat by Brentford on the opening weekend of the Premier League season
James Maddison of Tottenham
James Maddison has suffered an injury setback(Image: Jacques Feeney/Offside via Getty Images)
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James Maddison is set for another spell on the sidelines after fracturing his shoulder in Tottenham's opening match of the season.
Maddison missed most of last season with a serious knee injury and saw his 2026/27 campaign get off to a rotten start. He came off the bench for Mikey Moore in the second half of the 3-0 defeat by Brentford on Saturday and fell awkwardly.
An MRI scan has now confirmed that the 29-year-old midfielder has a fracture in his shoulder. However, Spurs boss Roberto De Zerbi tried to downplay the severity of the issue after Maddison played a limited role in Monday's training session.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of Spurs' Carabao Cup match against Charlton on Wednesday night, De Zerbi said: “Maddison suffered a small injury in his shoulder."
Maddison managed just three appearances totalling 34 minutes in the Premier League last season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in a pre-season match against Newcastle in August 2025.
He was sidelined for 254 days and missed 46 matches due to the ACL injury and had been hoping to hit the ground running for Spurs this season following a major summer spend in the transfer window.
Maddison is just one of a number of injury problems for De Zerbi, who is without both Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert, who both are out with ACL injuries. Mohammed Kudus is also unavailable, with De Zerbi confirming on Tuesday that the winger is "not ready yet".
Pape Sarr is nursing a hamstring injury, while Spurs are taking a careful approach with Dejan Kulusevski, who has not played since May 2025 due to a serious knee injury.
Roberto De Zerbi, Manager / Head Coach of Tottenham Hotspur
Roberto De Zerbi has several injury problems(Image: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
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Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro will be on the bench for the Carabao Cup second-round game against Championship side Charlton. Neither defender featured in the Brentford defeat after playing a limited role in pre-season preparations following the World Cup.
Savio could make his Spurs debut after completing a transfer from Manchester City which could be worth £85million. He will soon be joined by Omar Marmoush at Tottenham after Spurs agreed a loan deal with an obligation to buy the City attacker for £60m.
The duo join a new-look squad which has already been bolstered by the arrivals of Mateus Fernandes from West Ham, Sandro Tonali from Newcastle and Jan Paul van Hecke from Brighton. Tottenham have also signed defenders Marcos Senesi and Andy Robertson and goalkeeper Martin Dubravka on free transfers.
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