James Maddison injury: As England star makes punditry debut, when will he be fit to play for Tottenham again?

The attacking midfielder, 29, dropped to the ground with an injury in Spurs’ pre-season friendly against Newcastle United on August 3, just over a week before the Premier League season began.

Spurs later confirmed that Maddison had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee, which required surgery. The England international has been out of action ever since, and faces a lengthy road to recovery.

On Monday (December 8) he appeared on Sky Sports for Monday Night Football, covering Wolves vs Manchester United.

When asked on the show about his fitness, he said: “I'm doing really well for the stage I'm at. It's obviously a long injury I've got, I had a big knee surgery.

“More than anything right now, it's just about staying in the right mindset. I've had to accept and get over the fact that I'm going to be out for a long time.

“It destroyed me on the inside - it was such a big season for me, new manager coming in, World Cup year for England, it just felt like I really wanted to have a massive season for myself at this point in my career.

“But that wasn't the journey that was lined for me. I've doubted this, I've doubted bad things in the past and this is one of them. Tried to do a few different things in my time out.”

When will James Maddison be fit to play?

With a long road ahead of him, Maddison still won’t feature for Tottenham - or England - for quite some time.

The 29-year-old will probably be sidelined for most of the 2025/26 season, and therefore is unlikely to play in the World Cup next summer.

Maddison has been pictured back in training, but Spurs manager Thomas Frank has told fans not to get their hopes up.

He said: “It is very early stages, still a long-term injury; it’s good to see him out there but very early stages and there is no specific time frame.

“It will be a long time unfortunately before he is available.”