James Maddison hasn’t featured for Tottenham this season after suffering an ACL injury in pre-season.
The England international’s personality and creativity have been thoroughly missed as they currently languish in the relegation zone, two points below 18th-placed West Ham United.
In recent weeks, Tottenham’s injury woes got worse as Cristian Romero is expected to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, while Mohammed Kudus also suffered a setback just as he was ready to return from a hamstring problem.
Maddison, however, was spotted in team training earlier this week as Tottenham fans looked on with excitement.
And now, De Zerbi has provided an update on the England international ahead of their must-win Premier League clash against Brighton & Hove Albion.
No pressure on Maddison
Returning from an ACL injury obviously isn’t simple, let alone during a relegation dog-fight.
Tottenham can certainly use a player of his qualities as they’ve struggled to score and create goals this season. However, De Zerbi has admitted that Tottenham will err on the side of caution with Maddison as they already have a truckload of injuries.
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He said in his pre-match press conference, “There are a lot of different types of leaders.
“Real leader who talks inside the dressing room, Maddison is a top player on the pitch, with the ball, but also as a personality, mentality on the pitch.
“I would like to reach this level for Micky van de Ven, Palhinha is a leader, Bentancur, I would like to push with Solanke, he is one of the best strikers in the Premier League.
“I want him [Maddison] stronger as a character on the pitch. I don’t want to push too much as we lost Kudus in this way.
“I will use the players when they are totally available to play and start the training; it’s better to lose one game more than get another injury.”
De Zerbi explains Tottenham team dinner
Earlier this week, De Zerbi took the Tottenham players out for dinner, as was the case under Igor Tudor.
And the Italian feels team bonding is important for the club – especially at this stage of the season – as they fight to avoid the drop.
“I don’t know if we’ll win the game from dinner, the food was amazing and if we win, I am ready to pay every week for one dinner.
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“I believe in the people, the human relationship, the spirit and the soul of the players.
“Before we speak about tactical stuff, possession, set-pieces, these things are important but I work with people.
“There are a lot of players, but we need to build or find the best relationship we can find and I want to see on the pitch, players that help their teammates towards one target.
“If we don’t achieve our target, everyone will lose something in their career.”
The game against Brighton is a must-win for Tottenham as teams around them have started to pick up points. With just six games to go, three points on the board could be a spring in their step as they battle the odds to avoid the drop.
