I feel sometimes as though part of my job is to report on stories in sources that I would not recommend that any of you click on. That’s how I feel about the latest injury news about James Maddison, which was reported by Tom Barclay in The S-n. Now, I’ve stated this before — Barclay is a real journalist who happens to write for one of the most odious newspapers in Great Britain. Consequently, I’m going to tell you what he says but purposefully not link to the source material, because nobody should
be clicking on or reading The S-n if they don’t have to. I will shoulder that burden for you, dear readers. If you want to read the piece to ensure I’m representing the news correctly, go ahead — but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Anyway, it’s good news! According to Barclay, the groin injury that James Maddison picked up last weekend during the win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (still feels awesome to type those words) is not as severe as originally thought. Early in the second of half of Spurs’ win at the Bridge (still great!), Maddison apparently felt something, tried to play through it, and then thought better of it, sat down and allowed himself to be substituted. He walked off the pitch under his own power and was later seen on the sidelines with the rest of the team at the end of the match.
But it’s apparently not as serious as what was feared. Barclay, citing sources “close to the player,” calls the groin injury “fairly minor” and while it’s possible that will be enough to keep him out of this weekend’s match against Crystal Palace as a precautionary measure, it’s likely he’ll be back before too long.
I don’t blame Maddison for being overly cautious with his body at the moment. After all, he’s just barely back from a significant injury that kept him out for almost the whole of last season, he’s no longer a spring chicken, and you can’t really fault him for feeling something and not wanting to risk another lengthy period on the sidelines. That said, I’m very glad to hear this report, as “fairly minor” is certainly better than “significant groin strain.”
Barclay also mentions that Roberto De Zerbi will give an update on Maddison’s health and fitness in his press conference tomorrow, ahead of Spurs hosting Palace on Halloween. Hopefully it’ll be a good match and another win — after all, Spurs have already visited their house of horrors and come through unscathed.
