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Former Tottenham star bemoans Spurs difference maker’s absence vs Bodo/Glimt
James Maddison is set to be sidelined for the rest of the campaign with a potentially serious knee injury
Tottenham Hotspur playmaker James Maddison has had an up-and-down second season in North London but has provided a telling impact in the Europa League run-in.
The England international has registered three goals and as many assists in 11 Europa League outings. He most notably put his body on the line to win the penalty against Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-final second leg, which Dominic Solanke calmly slotted to help Spurs win the game 1-0 and the tie 2-1 on aggregate.
James Maddison also contributed in Spurs’ 3-1 win over Bodo/Glimt in the first leg of the semi-final last week at home. The 28-year-old delightfully controlled a long ball from Pedro Porro wrong-footed the Bodo/Glimt goalkeeper Nikita Haikin with a clever cut inside, and scuffed his shot to find the back of the net. However, he was forced off after 65 minutes through a knee injury.
Last week, it became clear that Maddison’s knee injury was more serious than first feared and subsequent scans confirmed that. Set to miss the rest of the season, the influential midfielder is now being evaluated for knee ligament damage. This means Maddison will almost certainly not take part in the second leg at Bodo/Glimt and the potential final at San Mames in Bilbao later this month.
Discussing Tottenham’s second leg vs Bodo/Glimt on talkSPORT via Youtube, ex-Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas was asked by the host how Maddison’s injury is going to affect Ange Postecoglou’s side in midweek. He stated that the Englishman’s experience and ability to keep the ball in tight situations will be missed by Tottenham at the Arctic Circle.
“In that midfield, you need the ability to be able to receive the ball under pressure, keep the ball in tight situations and have that confidence and ability to do that. And James Madison has that in abundance,” Jermaine Jenas answered to Sam Matterface’s question on talkSPORT.
It is true that Maddison, a pivotal player in the Europa League run-in this campaign, will no doubt have unsettled the Tottenham dressing room and thrown yet another spanner in the works for Big Ange. The Coventry-born star’s injury has come at the worst possible time for the North London outfit, whose sole objective now lies in winning the Europa League trophy.
The 28-year-old’ absence will force Ange to shake up his midfield unit on Thursday. Furthermore, Lucas Bergvall also getting injured is a big setback for Spurs, making it difficult for Ange to get the right balance in midfield to start with in Norway.
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Injuries to Maddison and Bergvall opens the door for Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr to come into the starting XI and produce big performances on an artificial grass surface that will favour the hosts. Or else, we can see Dejan Kulusevski getting tucked into midfield, and one of Bissouma or Sarr starting along with Rodrigo Bentancur in the Spurs engine room vs Bodo/Glimt.
Only time will tell what will be Ange’s thinking at the Aspmyra Stadion.
