Why Tottenham fans may have misunderstood James Maddison's late-season return
James Maddison was not fully fit when he returned for Tottenham last season.
Spurs expert John Wenham believes that the 29-year-old now has the platform to finally get back to speed.
Maddison missed 375 days of action with a knee injury, but returned against Leeds in May for a five-minute cameo.
He was expected to feature heavily in the Lilywhites’ pre-season campaign, but that was not the case.
Maddison has played four times so far this season, with three appearances coming in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup.
What did Tottenham fans not understand about Maddison's comeback last season?
Wenham, who owns the popular Lilywhite Rose account was surprised by what has emerged about the attacking midfielder.
He revealed the desperation behind his return to action, and why supporters, including himself, may have misunderstood the situation.
Speaking exclusively to Tottenham News, he said: “Yes [the break will be key].
“Basically what's transpired is, I thought by him having those couple of cameos at the end of last season, that he'd have a full pre-season this time round and then he'd be ready to go for match week one.
“But that hasn't happened at all, it has come out that effectively those cameos, we were just absolutely shot and desperate for anything to lift us towards the end of last season.
“He was coming on when he wasn't fully fit whatsoever, giving those cameos to try and lift the fans or lift the squad, and he's still finding his way back to fitness now."
What did Maddison say about his long-term injury?
Maddison revealed what actually happened with his injury after his comeback against Leeds.
He was initially misdiagnosed, as he was told that he did not need surgery on the knee issue that he suffered in the Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt in May 2025.
He was then forced to undergo surgery after exacerbating the injury in the pre-season friendly with Newcastle United in South Korea last summer.
Speaking after the clash with Daniel Farke’s side at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, he said: "“In my head, it goes back to the Europa League semi-final here when I got injured here because I did a partial ACL tear against Bodo/Glimt.
"I was told by the [external] specialist it wouldn’t need surgery and rehab. Then obviously it wasn’t strong, it didn’t recover properly, and I needed the full surgery, which is what happened in South Korea.”
Maddison then suffered a setback of a different kind earlier this season, when he fractured his shoulder against Brentford on the opening day.
Hopefully, he can now put his nightmare behind him and get back to his best form, with two weeks of training in the international break.