‘Destroyed me’ – James Maddison candidly opens up on injury hell and teases future career plans

James Maddison has revealed how much his ACL injury impacted him physically and mentally as he continues his road to recovery.

The Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder injured his knee during a pre-season friendly against Newcastle days before the campaign began.

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Spurs later revealed that he ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, and he has since undergone surgery.

Maddison looks set to be sidelined for the majority of the 2025/26 season and is unlikely to play for England at the 2026 World Cup.

On Monday night, he appeared on Monday Night Football for Sky Sports for their coverage of Wolves vs Manchester United.

The 29-year-old was asked for a fitness update, and 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.”

Maddison offered further clarity on how the injury affected him, and even hinted at a career in coaching once he retires from playing.

“It destroyed me on the inside,” he explained.

“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.

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“We’ve been talking about it, Carra’s [Jamie Carragher] been winding me up already, starting the old YouTube, started the ball rolling on my coaching badges.

“I had two more children, me and my partner had another set of twins so lots going on in my life to try and keep the mind in a good place, and watching a lot of football.”

When could Maddison return for Spurs?

Maddison was spotted in training at Spurs on Monday before their Champions League clash against Slavia Prague on Tuesday night.

However, he won’t feature in the clash at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, which will be live on talkSPORT 2.

Spurs head coach Thomas Frank offered an update on Maddison’s fitness and stressed it will be a long time until he’s back in action.

“It is very early stages, still a long-term injury,” Frank said.

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“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.”