The New York Times

Chelsea’s loss to Manchester City in Saturday’s FA Cup final has left them with little to play for over the dregs of this season.

They are relying on slip-ups from Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford to offer them an unlikely route to European football in 2026-27. The trophy cabinet will be bare. Instead, the buzz of appointing Xabi Alonso as their new manager will have to suffice in focusing minds.

But nothing lifts the mood quite like kicking a rival while they are down, and a win over Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night would have massive implications for their visitors from across the capital. While a Spurs win would mean they are safe from relegation, a Chelsea victory would mean third-bottom West Ham United could still save themselves from relegation. If Chelsea win, West Ham beat Leeds and Spurs lose to Everton in their own final game, Tottenham would go down.

For Chelsea fans, who have had little to cheer of late, to be able to contribute to Spurs’ demotion would be particularly sweet — especially for those of a certain vintage who have been waiting over half a century for this moment. “April 19, 1975. It’s engrained in my memory,” says season-ticket holder Graham Wright, 66, recalling a trip to Tottenham’s then home White Hart Lane as a 15-year-old.

Fifty-one years ago, these two clubs faced off in a crunch relegation battle. That time, it was Chelsea who went down.

In April 1975, as author and fan Tim Rolls puts it, Chelsea were “in trouble on and off the field”.

The club were beset with financial problems, key members of the FA Cup-winning side of 1970 had departed, and former player Eddie McCreadie had just taken over as manager from Ron Suart, who himself had only replaced Dave Sexton the previous October.

For the third-to-last game of the season, Chelsea travelled to Tottenham in 19th place, one point ahead of their hosts in 20th — the first relegation place in a then 22-team top flight.

“The club was in turmoil, basically,” Rolls says. “Everyone knew how crucial the game at White Hart Lane in April 1975 was. I think it was known from supporters on both sides that it was going to be a tense day.”

For Darren Rowe, 65, that Saturday started inauspiciously. Then 14, Rowe met fellow supporters at Fulham Broadway, near Stamford Bridge, and waited for a large group to travel across the capital to the match together on the underground. It was not a smooth journey.

“People were just acting like idiots on the Tube,” he says. “There was a lever you could pull and it would set the alarm off on the train and the train would stop immediately, and this happened a couple of times — and it delayed us by about, literally, for a couple of hours, just doing that journey to get to Seven Sisters (the underground station for White Hart Lane).”

Neil Smith, co-author of the book Eddie Mac Eddie Mac, about McCreadie, was 19 at the time and remembers how his own Tube service was “packed and yet it was silent”.

“Everybody knew how tense it was,” he says, recalling the mile-long walk from Seven Sisters to the stadium. “When you got into the vicinity of White Hart Lane, there were police vans everywhere, sirens going off. You saw people with bloodied faces being put into ambulances or police vehicles. They were struggling to arrest people.”

This was in an era where violence at the football was common, and with Spurs’ victory over Chelsea in the 1967 FA Cup final still fresh in the memory for many supporters, the rivalry between the two clubs was feverish enough without being ratcheted up by the threat of one of them suffering relegation.

When many Chelsea fans arrived at the stadium that April day — with tickets sold at the turnstile in those days — it was already close to capacity. Wright, 15 at the time, and his friend had gained entry to the Paxton Road end early and waited for others to join them, but by the time many Chelsea fans arrived, the turnstiles were shut and they found themselves surrounded by home supporters.

“We were mainly kids,” Wright says. “These were big. These were blokes. These were 18-to-25-year-olds. Some, I think, were nearly 30, looking at them. And we stood there waiting, and next thing you know, they’ve all come piling down on top of us from behind. Some ran on the pitch.”

He and his friend climbed over a fence to reach ‘the Shelf’ terrace running along the east touchline — with his friend tearing his jeans on a spike in the process. “So he’s walking around with his Levi jeans hanging off,” Wright says. “We went in the Shelf to try and find more Chelsea, but that was just the Tottenham lot in there and in the Park Lane as normal. And none of ours got in. So we sort of kept our heads down.”

“I remember being near a floodlight, and I think we even tried to climb up it to get a view, because it was that packed.”

From his vantage point in the Shelf, Smith remembers watching confrontations between Chelsea and Tottenham fans spilling out of the stands. “There was a terrific commotion opposite where there was an entrance on the other side of the ground. And it appeared that a massive Chelsea contingent were coming into the ground, which was nearly already full to capacity.

“A lot of the Tottenham fans in the Paxton Road end confronted them — and it ended up, because it was so packed, that the Chelsea fans who were just coming into the ground spilled onto the pitch.

“Kids from all four sides of the ground got onto the pitch. And there were plenty of fights, pitch battles, literally going on on the pitch. But you didn’t really know which fans were which. The colours weren’t evident. And then, come kick-off time, everyone started chanting, ‘Off, off, off.’

“Jack Taylor was the referee and he came on, and then people realised it was kick-off time. And then they cleared the pitch and the match started.”

McCreadie took a risk on a youthful team.

“He made Ray Wilkins, who was 18, his captain,” Rolls says. “He dropped a load of experienced players like John Hollins and Steve Kember and went with the youngsters. Now, the older players weren’t performing, but it’s still a heck of a gamble.”

Even with that risk, the fans The Athletic spoke to recall Chelsea being the better side for large parts of the game.

“The first half came and went, and they hadn’t bothered our goalkeeper at all,” Smith says. “Early on in the game, Charlie Cooke chested the ball down and volleyed it in past (Spurs goalkeeper) Pat Jennings. And I thought it was very harshly ruled out as it brushed his arm.”

Chelsea forced some excellent saves from Jennings, who denied Ian Britton and Ian Hutchinson in the first half. But after the break, they succumbed: Steve Perryman tapped in at the back post to put the home side ahead. Chelsea’s Micky Droy thought he had equalised, only to see his finish disallowed for handball as well.

Then Alfie Conn struck Spurs’ second from the edge of the area, and there was no way back.

“All I remember was the Spurs fans singing ‘Bye Bye Chelsea’ to (the tune of) the Bay City Rollers song Bye Bye Baby,” Wright says. “The whole of the ground was singing it because we knew, obviously, we’d probably get relegated on the back of this. It was one of the worst games I’ve been to in that respect.”

Tottenham did not technically relegate Chelsea that day. They could still have recovered, but only drew their final two fixtures. Spurs picked up the same number of points from their two remaining matches — meaning that win on April 19 turned out to be decisive.

Chelsea spent the next two seasons in the second division, winning promotion back to the first tier at the end of the 1976-77 season — trading places with Tottenham, who were relegated.

In a sense, the west Londoners have already had their payback. Tottenham have only won once in their past 35 league away games against Chelsea (drawing 11 and losing 23). Chelsea have also won 38 Premier League meetings between the two clubs, the most they have managed against any opponent since the revamped competition launched in 1992. Spurs have only lost more times against Manchester United (40).

But that is not stopping fans hoping for relegation revenge, though — especially those with less-than-fond memories of 1975.

“I’ve hated Tottenham ever since that day,” Wright says. “The irony of it as well was my sister gave birth to my nephew that day. And he’s (grown up to be) a Spurs fan. That exact day. You couldn’t make it up.”

Wright is a season-ticket holder, but ill health has kept him from going to Chelsea in recent months. This meeting with Spurs will be his first match back.

“Everyone you could think of is coming out for that game,” he adds. “That will make our season if we can put them down.

“And it’ll make up for the April 19, 1975 as well.”

Dominic Solanke has been ruled out of Tottenham Hotspur’s Premier League match against Chelsea on Tuesday but goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is available after recovering from hernia surgery.

Solanke has only made 15 league appearances this season as he has struggled to stay fit. He missed the first half of the campaign with a persistent ankle issue and suffered a muscle injury in the first half of last month’s 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Head coach Roberto De Zerbi was hopeful the England international could return against Chelsea but revealed on Monday he is not fully fit.

Vicario’s last appearance for Spurs was Igor Tudor’s final game in charge, their 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in March. The 29-year-old then underwent a hernia operation and Antonin Kinsky has started all of their matches since De Zerbi replaced Tudor.

“Vicario is available to play,” De Zerbi said in his pre-match press conference. “I decide tomorrow (who starts in goal). Solanke is not good yet. He is not available. He feels something. I don’t want to take a risk for this game.

“We hope for Sunday. Maybe for Sunday he can be available for one part of the game.”

In a previous press conference, De Zerbi described Vicario as Tottenham’s first-choice goalkeeper. He said it would be an “easy decision” to choose between Vicario and Kinsky for Chelsea but did not reveal who would start.

“Yes, Vicario is No 1 but we have to consider the physical condition at the moment, everything,” De Zerbi said. “I have a big relationship with Antonin Kinsky and with Vicario as well. There won’t be any problem.

Victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge will secure Spurs’ top-flight status for another season.

‘A blow to Spurs’ chances’

One of the biggest takeaways from last week’s draw with Leeds United is the lack of attacking options on the bench for De Zerbi to pick from. Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons are recovering from anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries while Mohammed Kudus has been unavailable since January due to a hamstring problem.

Solanke’s absence is a blow to Spurs’ chances of winning for only the second time in 36 years at Stamford Bridge and sending West Ham United down in the process.

Solanke — who started his career in Chelsea’s academy and made his senior debut for them under former Spurs head coach Jose Mourinho — is more composed on the ball than Richarlison and offers a greater threat running in behind. Solanke’s scorpion-kick in February’s draw with Manchester City proved he can create something special out of nothing. However, De Zerbi will have to continue to rely on Mathys Tel, Richarlison and Randal Kolo Muani.

Solanke will also be concerned about how this impacts his chance of being named in England’s squad for this summer’s World Cup. The 28-year-old featured under Thomas Tuchel in March’s friendlies against Uruguay and Japan. Since then Solanke’s rivals upfront, including Ollie Watkins, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Danny Welbeck, have played and scored regularly. Is Tuchel going to call-up someone with a bad injury record this season who has only scored six times in all competitions?

De Zerbi was cryptic with his answers about the goalkeeping situation but it would be bizarre to drop Kinsky after his excellent performance against Leeds, including his impressive saves to prevent Joe Rodon and Sean Longstaff from scoring.

Fernandes and the future at Manchester United

With Manchester United already guaranteed a Champions League spot and Nottingham Forest having avoided relegation, Sunday’s match at Old Trafford had little riding on it, except if your name is Bruno Fernandes.

The Portuguese midfielder bulldozed around the pitch like a man possessed, not necessarily even for a United victory or to score any goals himself, but to set as many up as he could.

Coming into the game one behind Kevin De Bruyne and Thierry Henry’s jointly-held Premier League assist record of 20, Fernandes spent most of the match, especially the second half, laying on passes for his team-mates in the final third.

There were times he was better off shooting at goal himself, but chose to pass instead, while one of the moments of the match was when he dropped to his knees after Bryan Mbeumo spurned a great chance he’d laid on. Fernandes’ grin immediately afterwards suggested he was relishing his unique personal quest.

In total, he played eight key passes, created two ‘big’ chances in Opta speak and, yes, provided one assist to draw level with the record.

It was a virtuoso performance from the Premier League’s best player of 2025-26 and you could see how much it meant to him and his team-mates when Mbeumo did score from his pass, with most going to Fernandes to celebrate, including goalkeeper Senne Lammens.

Things look pretty swell for Fernandes, United and Michael Carrick right now after a stellar few months. The Premier League table since Carrick took charge in January has United top of the pile.

Yes, they’ve had the advantage of no other competitions to play in, but in terms of results and performances, particularly given the shambles Carrick inherited, you can’t fault anything he’s done so far.

Where you would be slightly concerned for him, and the club going forward, is what happens next, because above management level United have got more things wrong than right in the INEOS era.

The fact United were even contemplating the potential sale of Fernandes to Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal last summer speaks volumes about the thought processes that go on at senior management level.

Fernandes has been United’s best player for some time and the contribution he has made in 2025-26, with those 20 assists and creating 95 chances from open play (no other Premier League player has created even 60) show that near-decision to be utterly ludicrous.

“From the club I felt it was; ‘If you go it’s not so bad for us’,” Fernandes said in December.

“More than hurting me, it makes me sad. I could have left in this transfer window, I would have earned much more money.

“I would have won many trophies this season, but I decided not to go, not only for family reasons but because I genuinely love the club.”

Where would United be without Fernandes this season? Perhaps others would have stepped up, but it’s no exaggeration to suggest they’d have struggled to reach the Champions League positions.

Given United’s record of previous managerial appointments, odd recruitment decisions, selling Scott McTominay and almost selling or at least loaning Kobbie Mainoo (who is now the centrepiece of their future again with a five-year contract), any faith that the club will continue this progress next season should be tempered with a dose of realism.

Alonso’s new players need a lift

Saturday’s FA Cup final was clear proof, if needed, of the job Alonso has on his hands at Chelsea.

Chelsea weren’t expected to beat Manchester City. In a one-off final, anything can happen, as City fans know all too well from their previous two against Crystal Palace and Manchester United, both of which they were favourites to win, and not least from the 2021 Champions League final when the Blues caused a big upset against Pep Guardiola’s side in Porto.

But on this occasion, given their wretched form of three wins in 12 (all in the cup, against Port Vale, Wrexham and Leeds United), plus, you know, it was Guardiola versus Calum McFarlane, it never seemed like it would result in anything other than a City victory.

However, while this was a pretty interesting final, City coasted towards a 1-0 win that had you questioning just how much Chelsea wanted it.

It’s not an easy task breaking City down, but did Chelsea strain every sinew to try and force an equaliser? Did they unquestionably try everything they could to win? Did James Trafford even have to make any meaningful late saves? There was certainly no kitchen sink thrown in the last 10 minutes. Not even the washing-up bowl.

You didn’t even really get the impression — and this is hard to judge from body language alone, but we’ve all seen cup finals before — that they were massively devastated at full-time.

Perhaps that’s a harsh assessment, perhaps not, but what is unequivocal is that Chelsea are a team completely cast adrift, rudderless and leaderless.

It’s a ridiculously young squad, with only two outfield players older than 26 (Tosin Adarabioyo is their senior veteran, aged 28) and they haven’t had an experienced manager to guide the group since Mauricio Pochettino left in 2024. (Enzo Maresca wasn’t particularly young, but he’d only been a first-team manager for one season when he moved to Stamford Bridge.)

Add in a lack of discipline on the field (seven red cards this season is three more than any other side) and off the field (we’re looking at you, Enzo Fernandez) and everything points to an unruly dressing room that needs managing more than any kind of tactical direction.

Alonso’s failure to command the respect of the Real Madrid squad doesn’t bode well for a long and fruitful Stamford Bridge reign in what is possibly a risky move on both sides. For the Spaniard in particular, you question the motives behind his decision to take on a club that has spent almost £2billion on transfers and somehow gone backwards.

Why has Alonso risked further damaging his reputation? Is it purely ego on his part? Is the lure of being the man to reverse Chelsea’s fortunes, potentially propelling him back to a top-tier club like Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain, really too great to resist? Maybe. Is he being paid the GDP of a small country? Probably.

With their money and their academy there is a long-term plan that can work at Chelsea, but until those above Alonso’s level work out what they’re doing, it’s hard to see any manager succeeding on anything other than a short-term basis.

Hammer blow

Coming up

Two years to the day after last stepping on the pitch at Stamford Bridge, Conor Gallagher will return to his boyhood club on Tuesday in circumstances nobody could have envisaged when he left.

Having started 37 of Chelsea’s 38 league matches in his final season, Gallagher, now 26, was effectively forced out of the club he played for from the age of six after refusing to sign a short-term contract. Gallagher was sold to Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2024 for €42 million (£35.8m, $54.7m at the time), with Chelsea seeking pure profit from his sale to help their position regarding profit and sustainability regulations.

Now, after a trail of events that seem almost inconceivable, he will be back as a Tottenham Hotspur player, fighting to keep Chelsea’s fiercest rival in the Premier League. Just two seasons ago, Gallagher was the beating heart of Mauricio Pochettino’s team for his single term in the Chelsea dugout, captaining Chelsea 30 times in all competitions and displaying his versatility across four positions in midfield.

For his performances and for what it meant for Chelsea fans to have another “one of their own” wearing the armband in the absence of captain Reece James, Pochettino described Gallagher as “priceless” and “a player with a great commitment to the team” at the time. Roberto De Zerbi, who said, “I want to see again the same Gallagher I loved in (his time at) Chelsea”, pushed him to return to the level he played at in his final season at Stamford Bridge, and is undoubtedly hoping to see that player again in this high-stakes derby.

“The gaffer has been brilliant with us,” Gallagher said of De Zerbi in the mixed zone after scoring the opening goal of Tottenham’s 2-1 win at Aston Villa on May 3. ”He’s brought the team together. He’s really worked on players individually with one-to-one meetings and one-to-one chats, trying to get that belief and confidence back in the players. He’s done that with me, and it’s made a big difference.

“He just reminds me of when I was at my best. He said that second season at Chelsea, when I had a really good season, he just reminded me of that player. He wants me to be like that again and not to forget how good I can be. He’s done that with a lot of the lads. It’s as simple as that, just trying to remind us of what we were when we were at our best.”

In the 2023-24 season, Gallagher’s best yet, he became a crucial part of Pochettino’s side, playing alongside Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez. Whether he played alongside Caicedo in a double pivot, ahead of the Ecuadorian as a No 8 in a midfield three, or behind the striker as a No 10, Gallagher consistently influenced matches as a front-line defender, playmaker and goalscorer.

Gallagher grew up idolising Frank Lampard, and his ability to time his runs to finish from midfield, like the England and Chelsea legend, was evident in his final season at Stamford Bridge. Gallagher netted seven times in 50 matches across all competitions that term, including a double against Crystal Palace, where he scored eight goals on loan in the 2021-22 season.

Here’s the first of those two goals for Chelsea against Palace in February 2024.

In this instance, Gallagher exercises patience and discipline, waiting for space to open up on the edge of the box, using his team-mates’ forward runs to create that space for himself, allowing team-mate Malo Gusto to find him in the box with yards of space. Gusto’s cross is slightly awkward to deal with for Gallagher, who has to take his finish on the bounce, but Gallagher controls it well, finding the power and direction to finish past Dean Henderson in the Palace goal.

Here’s his second that day, again waiting for the Chelsea attack to progress down the wing before finding space on the edge of the box and placing his shot into the corner.

With two forward-minded full-backs on either flank in Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie, Gallagher’s ability to attack the box intelligently from midfield could be an effective route to goal against Chelsea, who had issues with tracking deep runs in recent defeats to Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion.

He’s not just someone who can provide the final action, though. This clip, where he receives a pass under pressure from Fernandez, spins past a tackle, and finishes past goalkeeper Illan Meslier in Chelsea’s 3-2 FA Cup win over Leeds United, also in February 2024, is an example of his quality in tight spaces.

Gallagher scored his first goal for Spurs against Villa, a powerful strike on the volley from outside the box that inspired Tottenham’s best performance since their 2-0 win against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in August. But it was Gallagher’s ability to affect the game in every area, as he often did for Chelsea in his final season, that drew praise from De Zerbi.

“When Gallagher plays like this, we play with 12 players,” De Zerbi said, after Gallagher’s man-of-the-match display at Villa Park. “You can find him as a striker, as a midfielder, as a full-back, everywhere on the pitch you can find him.”

It’s a level he has spent the last two years trying to get back to. While he endeared himself to Atletico Madrid fans with his work rate and versatility, earning the nickname “pitbull” almost immediately upon signing, Gallagher failed to nail down a place in Diego Simeone’s starting line-up, frequently coming off the bench as a utility man. Then, after returning to the Premier League in January for €40million (£34.7m; $46.6m at the time), Gallagher found himself in and out of the side under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, as Spurs sank closer to the relegation zone. But under De Zerbi, Gallagher feels “wanted” again, something he told The Athletic in 2024 inspired his move to Atletico, after a prolonged transfer saga.

Against Villa, Gallagher led all players in defensive contributions, registering 11 in total. In many ways, it was the closest he has come to reaching the standard he consistently displayed in his final season for Chelsea since leaving west London, delivering a dominant all-action midfield performance.

Here’s an example of Gallagher winning the ball from Kobbie Mainoo, one of his England team-mates at Euro 2024.

With Mainoo blind to Gallagher’s position, Gallagher closes the space and nips the ball away from the Manchester United man, before moving the ball quickly to Nicolas Jackson and starting a counter-attack.

Here’s Gallagher doing something very similar in Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Leeds on Monday, combining with Joao Palhinha to pressure Ao Tanaka.

In a short time under De Zerbi, Gallagher has proven he can be part of a strong pressing unit, with the tackle on Tanaka a good example of how he and his midfield team-mates can work together to win possession. But Gallagher, as reflected by the “pitbull” nickname, can be a one-person pressing machine if given the licence to charge down opposition players, as shown here.

And when he wins it, Gallagher was typically useful in possession at Chelsea. He made nine assists in his final season at Stamford Bridge, including two against Spurs, one of which came during a stretch in which he assisted four goals in five matches. And he could, and probably should, have had more.

Here’s one sequence leading to an excellent chance for Nicolas Jackson, who places his shot wide.

And another, where a delicately chipped cross, finding Fernandez in space at the far post, deserved a better finish.

This version of Gallagher, one who can create, defend, score goals and lead a team as a motivator and example, was a standout in the Premier League and a regular England international.

Starting at Stamford Bridge, it’s also the player De Zerbi is calling on to make the difference for the final two games of the season.

Son Heung-min’s final game for Tottenham Hotspur exposed how elite sport can be simultaneously beautiful and brutal.

There were around 60,000 fans inside the Seoul World Cup Stadium for Spurs’ friendly against Newcastle United on August 3. They cheered every time Son touched the ball and booed when a goal he ‘scored’ was disallowed for offside. The South Korea forward was given a guard of honour by both teams when he was substituted in the second half and received a standing ovation from the crowd.

A few moments later, the mood turned sombre. Shortly after coming off the bench, James Maddison went down in pain following a collision with Newcastle winger Anthony Elanga. Maddison suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in his right knee and had to be stretchered off the pitch. He was consoled in the dressing room by Rodrigo Bentancur, who suffered the same injury in February 2023.

After the game, Son cried in the tunnel as he said goodbye to Tottenham’s squad. Journalists captured his tears and the flash from their cameras illuminated a hooded figure walking behind him on crutches. It turned out to be Maddison’s last appearance until his emotional comeback in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United.

“It goes back to the Europa League semi-final when I got injured here because I did a partial ACL tear (in the same knee) against Bodo/Glimt,” Maddison, 29, told a group of reporters, including The Athletic, after his cameo against Leeds. “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. So in my head, it’s been longer.

“But that being said, the reception I got today was an amazing moment that will live with me forever. There have been some dark days in the last year, especially since the surgery. It has been a really tough year mentally but I’m at the end of the tunnel, so I can kind of look back on that with fondness because I’m as mentally strong as I can be after going through that.”

There were 375 days between the first leg of last season’s Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt and the draw with Leeds. It has been a long road to recovery for Maddison, filled with ups and downs.

Maddison missed the Europa League final in Bilbao last May, but he was still at the centre of Spurs’ celebrations.

At full time, he ran onto the pitch in a suit and embraced Son. He sang Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond and performed a duet with comedian Michael McIntyre at the after-party.

Maddison worked on his fitness throughout the summer and did not feature in any pre-season games until Spurs flew to Hong Kong and South Korea. He mainly focused on individual drills with strength-and-conditioning coaches, while head coach Thomas Frank, who replaced Ange Postecoglou in June, worked with the core squad.

The playmaker ran up and down the touchline with a resistance band wrapped around him during the north London derby against Arsenal in Hong Kong and then replaced Pape Matar Sarr for the final few minutes. Maddison came on midway through the second half against Newcastle but lasted 10 minutes before dropping to the floor in pain.

When he returned from tour, he visited the Fortius Clinic in central London. Andy Williams, the founder of Fortius, is a knee specialist who, according to Bupa, performs around 100 ACL reconstructions each year, and the majority of his patients are professional athletes. Williams’ office contains signed shirts from other sports stars he has operated on, including Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, Aston Villa’s Tammy Abraham and England’s European Championship winner Lucy Bronze. Williams also helped Spurs full-back Destiny Udogie recover from a knee problem last summer.

Maddison set up a YouTube channel to document his recovery and in one of the videos, he discusses the injury with Williams.

“You did nothing wrong,” Williams said. “If I saw your scans originally, I would have treated you the same way. I have these scenarios every month or two and usually you get away with it but not always.”

Maddison underwent surgery on August 12 and went home the following day, where he watched his team-mates lose the European Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain in a penalty shootout. He visited the training ground a couple of days later, just before Spurs’ first Premier League game of the season against Burnley, to discuss his recovery process with medical lead Nick Stubbings and doctor Tamim Khanbhai.

The expectation was that Maddison was unlikely to feature at all during the 2025-26 campaign and they did not set any firm targets for a return. Maddison’s approach was the opposite of Dejan Kulusevski after he underwent surgery on his patella (kneecap) last May. In September, Frank said Kulusevski was “hopefully not too far away,” and there was “a good chance” he could return before the end of 2025. Kulusevski has not played a single competitive minute this season and on Tuesday was left out of Sweden’s World Cup squad.

Recovery for Maddison was initially all about rest. Rebuilding strength in his leg muscles required regular gym exercises with lead rehab physio Richard Clark, including walking on an anti-gravity treadmill, deadlifts, box jumps, split squats with weights, balancing drills and running on a small trampoline.

“It’s actually quite simple rehab, it’s just a real grind. It’s long and it’s hard,” Maddison said after Leeds. “I just had to do the work. There are no corners cut.

“There was never any doubt about getting back. Some tough days mentally to do the work when the light at the end of the tunnel is just not in sight but we are there now. I’m really grateful for the physios who worked with me.”

In October, Frank named Maddison in his leadership group because of his ability to connect with people. Maddison has strong relationships with his team-mates, including Djed Spence and Archie Gray. He bonded with Radu Dragusin, who injured an ACL in January 2025 and was further ahead in his recovery. Maddison is now providing the same support to Wilson Odobert, who ruptured an ACL in February.

He whiled away the hours by playing online football trivia game Contextinho with January signing Souza and reconditioning coach Matthew Bickley. When Maddison was allowed outside with a ball, he regularly trained with academy players, including Callum Olusesi, Luca Williams-Barnett and James Rowswell before joining the senior squad. One source close to the dressing room, who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships, described him as a “good guy who likes to have fun”.

Maddison’s ability to impact the team without playing was recognised by Frank’s successor, Roberto De Zerbi. The new head coach named him in the matchday squad on multiple occasions over the last few weeks, despite admitting he was unlikely to feature, because he “is a positive guy inside my dressing room”.

YouTube was not the only distraction from the gruelling recovery process. Maddison appeared at the Leaders Conference in October to discuss how he uses social media. At the end of the month, he welcomed newborn twins Jensen and Frankie with his partner, Kennedy. A few weeks later, he was on the touchline to support Dragusin as he made his comeback in a behind-closed-doors match at Tottenham’s training ground.

In December, Maddison appeared on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show to provide analysis of Manchester United’s 4-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers and starred in the broadcaster’s advert for the 2026 Darts World Championship. There was a family holiday to Dubai and a trip to Cheltenham Festival. In February, he invited Harley, a young fan who suffers with a rare genetic condition, to a Spurs game and presented him with a signed shirt at half-time.

He visited a biomechanics centre in Manchester where sensors were stuck all over his body to assess the strength of his knee. During the March international break, England trained at Spurs’ training ground and Maddison was briefly reunited with Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice.

There were lots of difficult moments, though. The average recovery timeline for an ACL rupture is eight and a half months, drastically reducing Maddison’s chances of playing for England at the upcoming World Cup. Maddison was in Gareth Southgate’s squad at the last tournament in Qatar but did not get on the pitch. He was overlooked for the European Championship in 2024 and has not been called up by Southgate’s successor, Thomas Tuchel. Maddison knew even if he returned before the end of the season, forcing his way into Tuchel’s plans was unlikely, given the fierce competition in attacking midfield.

Spurs started brightly under Frank but limp defeats to Chelsea, Arsenal and Fulham in November eroded his authority. They crashed out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in the third round and fourth round. Frank was sacked in February after a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle.

Igor Tudor replaced Frank but only lasted seven games. De Zerbi’s arrival has changed Spurs’ fortunes but they remain only two points above the relegation zone with two games remaining. Spurs have taken 13 points from 18 games in 2026, the second-worst record in the division behind Burnley (nine). Maddison registered nine goals and seven assists during the 2024-25 season and Spurs have sorely missed his creativity.

“You watch through a lens of, ‘What would I be doing? What could I do differently?,’ Maddison said this week. “It’s been a tough season for Tottenham, a season to forget. Not being able to affect it and help the club has been difficult.”

There have been a few highs. Away victories against Manchester City, Leeds, Everton and Aston Villa are proving valuable. They finished fourth in the Champions League’s league phase. Missing out on those moments and the camaraderie of being with his team-mates has not been easy. Maddison praised his family, the players and the club’s staff for helping him navigate “the dark days”.

“Sometimes you just have to deal with (it) yourself,” he said. “Some of the worst days are when we have had highs — when the team are away winning (in) the Champions League and you’re just not a part of it. That is tough as well.”

At the end of March, Tudor publicly hinted Maddison could feature before the end of the season but there was still some caution. The day before Maddison was included in the squad for April’s draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, De Zerbi insisted, “I don’t know,” when asked about the midfielder’s potential return. The head coach added, “I don’t want push too much because we lost Mohammed Kudus in this way.” Maddison did not warm up against Brighton but his presence gave his team-mates and the crowd a lift.

Ripples of cheers broke out on Monday when different sections of the crowd realised Maddison started warming up on the touchline. They turned into a roar when he replaced Mathys Tel in the 85th minute. Leeds’ head coach Daniel Farke worked with Maddison at Norwich City and shook the midfielder’s hand before he came onto the pitch.

Maddison received a standing ovation and had an immediate impact. He arguably should have earned a penalty following a challenge from Lukas Nmecha in stoppage time. At the end of the game, Maddison applauded the South Stand and was embraced by his team-mates.

“Once the first minute had gone by, it was like, ‘Now I’m on the pitch we need to get a winner here’,” Maddison said. “The nice moment had gone. It was almost straight to business. I would rather (we) be safe, come on and enjoy and build up slowly, but that’s not the situation we are in. When you are on the pitch, you forget about anything else, the adrenaline kicks in. When you get your first touch, it’s just another game and I felt really good.”

Joao Palhinha described Maddison’s return as “amazing”.

“We really missed him,” Palhinha added. “Not just on the pitch but also in the dressing room. He is a top player. He also knows that he is a special player for everyone.”

It has been a miserable season for Spurs and Maddison but a crucial contribution against Chelsea or Everton to help avoid relegation would be a nice conclusion. If Spurs avoid the drop, then Maddison, who has two years left on his contract, should be key to De Zerbi’s long-term plans.

Additional reporting: Jack Pitt-Brooke, Elias Burke

“Minimum interference, maximum benefit” was the promise when VAR was first introduced. Those were the words used by David Elleray, the technical director of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), in a presentation to journalists at Wembley Stadium in March 2017 to justify the profound change the game was about to undergo.

“We do not want to destroy the essential flow and emotions of football,” Elleray argued. “We do not want to be NFL. We just want to get rid of headline mistakes and scandals.”

The logic was clear enough. Examples such as Diego Maradona’s handball against England or Thierry Henry’s against the Republic of Ireland were held up as proof. Under this new system, those headline mistakes could be surgically removed from the game, keeping everything else intact.

The laser precision of technology was all that was required.

More than nine years on, those comments sound like a cruel joke. This week alone, at the decisive moment of the season when everything is on the line, it has never been clearer that we are all watching, playing and participating in a game that belongs to VAR. “Headline mistakes and scandals” have not been removed from the game but have in fact been piling up like never before.

Mistakes and scandals that are not just one-off errors, misses, lapses of judgment, but rather an inevitable part of the VAR system.

Take the 99th-minute penalty decision on Wednesday night at Fir Park. Celtic were drawing 2-2 at Motherwell, a result that would give Hearts a rock-solid lead in the Scottish title race going into Saturday’s final fixture. Motherwell’s Sam Nicholson jumped to head the ball and it flew away out of play as can only be the case after a firm defensive header.

But VAR Andrew Dallas called referee John Beaton to the monitor to judge for a handball. Even though the trajectory of the ball pointed to a clean header, the penalty was given, Kelechi Iheanacho scored, Celtic won. The balance going into this weekend’s title decider is changed.

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes called it “disgusting” afterwards, and it is hard not to feel sympathy with his position because this was a decision that would never have been made in the pre-VAR era. Our shared understanding of the game would tell us that this was a firm, clear header, with no second thought required.

It is only under the harsh glare of slow-motion replays, exhaustively examining every frame, that it can even begin to look like an offence.

But this gets to the heart of the mistake upon which VAR is built. The theory was always that the technology would support the laws of the game, would enforce them and reveal to the world the moments where the laws had been broken. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because the laws have not been buttressed by VAR. Rather, they have been blown apart.

The laws of the game date back to December 1863. They are as old as Edvard Munch and Archduke Franz Ferdinand. And they were written to be judged by human eyes in real time.

Offside calls were never meant to be done by the millimetre, which is why the concept of ‘level’ existed for so long. Handball always rested on a shared informal understanding, one that is difficult to codify. And yet VAR has effectively dragged the handball law towards strict liability. On the matter of serious foul play, traditionally the most subjective of all the major refereeing decisions, VAR has never been able to provide clear, uncontested answers.

Every time there is an argument about VAR, people rush to tell you that the issue is not so much the technology but rather “the people using it”. And that, with root-and-branch reform of PGMOL, we might finally get to the sunlit uplands of minimum interference, maximum benefit. That has always been a laughable position, and was proven again to be so on Wednesday night.

The issue is, and has always been, the technology itself. As soon as you introduce omniscient slow-mo, you are transforming what refereeing is. And as soon as you demand that the officials judge every little collision, every little event on the pitch under slow-mo, the rules can clearly no longer cope.

No wonder, then, that referees can look so reluctant to make decisions now that they know they have an all-seeing eye behind them. They have effectively been given a tool which it is never in their interest not to use.

Take Tottenham’s game against Leeds United on Monday night. When Mathys Tel accidentally kicked Ethan Ampadu in the head, it was not given on the pitch by Jarred Gillett, but afterwards by VAR. And then, deep into added time, when James Maddison was tripped by Lukas Nmecha, that was not given on the pitch either.

Both calls were effectively left to the VAR, who advised Gillett to re-examine the first penalty but not the second. And that decision not to award Spurs a penalty has indeed become the headline of the following days, showing that even the VAR system is no guarantee of accuracy in the biggest moments.

Of course, it barely needs to be said again that “the essential flow and emotions of football”, something IFAB wanted to safeguard, have been ripped to pieces by VAR. That is proven by every major game.

Goals are not fully celebrated any more, robbing paying fans of the whole point of attending games in the first place. Even the row about West Ham’s disallowed Callum Wilson equaliser last Saturday against Arsenal was proof of this, as one of the biggest Premier League moments of the modern era ended in a lengthy VAR stoppage, with long discussion after the fact about whether laws on grappling were being applied in a uniform way or not.

A terrible week for VAR then, but perhaps no worse than any normal week. The only thing that has changed right now is the stakes. And with so much riding on every game, the inaccuracies, the inconsistencies, the joy-sapping delays are just shown up even more.

There is one clean, clear, simple solution for this, and that is full abolition without delay. Just do not expect anyone to listen.

Tottenham Hotspur’s perilous league position with just two Premier League games remaining means that minds are focused firmly on what’s happening on the pitch. Right now, the only question that matters is whether Roberto De Zerbi can maintain the improvement of the last few weeks and guide Spurs to safety.

But there is another set of questions facing the club, even ones that are not as immediate as the question of which division they will be playing in next season. And those questions concern the ownership of the club, and particularly the majority-shareholding Lewis family.

Daniel Levy’s sudden dismissal last September put the Lewis family in the spotlight like never before. Without Levy there to run the club and act as the lightning rod for criticism, more questions have been asked of the Lewis family regarding their long-term plans.

Throughout, the Lewis family have been very clear that they do not want to sell up. The last widely-reported enquiry into the acquisition of the club came from a consortium led by Brooklyn Earick last September, which led to a source close to the Lewis family dismissing it as “unsolicited and unnecessary interest”.

But whatever happens over the last two games of this season, the question of the Lewis family’s long-term intentions for Tottenham Hotspur won’t go away for long. Especially with fans aghast at the struggles of the club this season, facing the fear of their first relegation for 50 years. The Lewis family’s position, that the club is not for sale, is steadfast, regardless of which division Spurs are playing in next season.

There is another potential factor regarding the ownership of the club worth considering. And that is ENIC granting themselves ‘warrants’ to acquire extra shares, at the cost of diluting the club’s 30,000 minority shareholders.

First issued in June 2022 when ENIC injected £100million (then $124.7m) into Spurs, the warrants grant ENIC the option to buy up further shares in the club at no extra cost. The warrants previously equated to five per cent of club shares as at the June 2022 issue date, but ‘step up’ by 1.5 per cent annually between March 2025 and June 2032. At that point, assuming all of those annual step-ups take place, the warrants will comprise 15.5 per cent of Spurs’ June 2022 capital base.

So why does this matter? The accounts state that these warrants are only converted “on a change of control”. Put simply, if ENIC were to sell, these warrants would be cashed out, effectively granting them a sweetener or a bonus on top of the money they would get for their majority shareholding.

But given that these warrants have only been awarded to ENIC, they effectively come at the cost of the minority shareholders. The creation of the warrants has a dilutive effect on the entire shareholding, as it creates what is in effect a separate pot of shares. But that pot will belong — at a change of control — entirely to ENIC.

The minority shareholders — of which there are roughly 30,000 — currently own 12.38 per cent of the shareholding of Tottenham Hotspur Limited, i.e. the part that is not owned by ENIC. Many of those shareholders — some estimate as many as half — only own one share each. Their prime motivation is not financial, not expecting a return on their investment or dividends, but rather romantic: they want to own a small part of the club that they support.

Existing minority shareholders do have the option to sell their shares on Asset Match, an online trading platform. Asset Match runs auctions in Spurs shares every two months.

That minority shareholding could be very valuable.

If we take Forbes’ 2024 enterprise valuation of Tottenham Hotspur of £2.6billion and deduct £793m in net debt, the club’s equity was valued at £1.8bn. A 12.38 per cent share of that — the sum proportion of today’s minority shareholdings — was deemed to be worth £225m. If the enterprise value of the club were higher at, say, £3bn, the minority shareholders’ proportion of the equity element would be worth £273m.

But the issue is that those minority shareholders are currently in a weak position. They have no protections (such as anti-dilution rights), no board rights, and no rights to dividends. Nor have they ever been offered the chance to participate in any of the capital injections through which ENIC has invested money in recent years.

In recent years, even before the warrants kicked in, the minority shareholders have seen themselves steadily diluted by ENIC.

In May 2022, at the end of the season when Antonio Conte guided Spurs into fourth, ENIC injected that £100m. By creating new shares, ENIC increased their shareholding from 85.55 per cent to 86.58 per cent. Then, in December 2024, ENIC bought another £35m of shares, increasing their stake to 86.91 per cent. In October 2025, a few weeks after Levy’s dismissal, another £100m injection came in, upping ENIC’s stake to 87.62 per cent. The 12.38 per cent currently held by minority shareholders is already down by 2.07 per cent since early 2022.

There is nothing unusual about a majority shareholder increasing their stake in this way. They are the ones who put the money in, after all. But the minorities were never given the option to participate in any of this. They have already seen their holding reduced by the three ENIC injections in the last four years. And now they face the prospect of further dilution by the warrants.

The combination of those two things means that if the warrants grow up to their cap of 15.5 per cent of the June 2022 base by 2032, the combined minority stakes will be worth less than 11 per cent by then. That sounds like a small decrease but, at the valuations bandied about for Spurs, it translates to a significant transfer in value away from minority shareholders.

Based on that earlier Forbes valuation, the minority shareholders’ interest in the club’s equity value would total an estimated £196m — £29m less than at their current ownership stake. The gap only widens as the valuation of Spurs rises: at the higher enterprise value, where equity is valued at £2.2bn, the ‘lost’ value to minority owners hits £34m. On either calculation, the warrants have the effect of transferring value year-on-year from the minority shareholders to ENIC, for which the former will never be compensated. That £34m divided by 30,000 equates to over £1,100 each: or three-quarters of the price of a Tottenham season ticket.

The picture for minority shareholders may be about to get even worse. Tottenham are currently governed by the Takeover Code, a regulation that oversees publicly-traded companies in the UK. Under Rule 9 of the code, anyone who acquires at least 30 per cent of a company must make an offer to all remaining shareholders at the highest price paid in the last 12 months. So, hypothetically, if ENIC were to sell, the minorities could sell as well. But Tottenham are viewed as a ‘Transition Company’ by the panel, and so on February 2, 2027, their protections will fall away. This means that any potential buyer would be under no obligation to offer the minority shareholders anything if they acquired ENIC’s stake. Potentially leaving the minority shareholders as an illiquid rump.

“There’s not much point from a financial perspective in owning illiquid shares in a company where one group or entity can essentially do what they like,” says one shareholder, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Your investment then is stuck.”

Daniel Levy, Tottenham Hotspur’s former executive chairman, says he did not envisage the club being in a relegation battle “in a million years”.

Levy, who was speaking on Wednesday after being awarded a CBE for services to charity and the community in Tottenham, was sacked by Spurs’ majority owners, the Lewis family, in September after nearly a quarter of a century running the club.

Spurs began the campaign with Thomas Frank as head coach and Champions League football, but they are currently on their third permanent manager of the season in Roberto De Zerbi and fighting to avoid relegation with two league games to play.

Asked by The Press Association if he saw any signs that the club, which finished 17th in the top flight last season, would end up in a relegation battle, Levy said: “Never, no, not in a million years.”

Levy added that “relegation was not something we ever considered” when he was overseeing the construction of the club’s £1.2billion stadium which opened in 2019.

In a separate interview with Sky Sports, Levy said: “All I’m focused on is making sure Tottenham stay in the Premier League.

“I could never have envisaged this at the beginning of the season.

“Obviously (I’m) incredibly disappointed but let’s look forward and very much hope that next season we’re still in the Premier League. I’m feeling the pain but optimistic that we’ll get through it.

“It’s been very, very difficult but Spurs is in my blood and I’m hopeful that we’ll be OK in the end.”

Asked for his highlights from his time at Spurs, Levy said: “Getting in the (2019) Champions League final, opening the stadium, achieving Europe a number of times, having some great players, making a contribution to the local community, impacting people’s lives. There isn’t one item, it’s lots of things.”

He added the club would be “forever grateful” to former head coach Ange Postecoglou for leading Spurs to last season’s Europa League title, one of two trophies they won under Levy’s chairmanship along with the 2008 League Cup.

Imagine you had access to a time machine. And that you decided that the best use of this machine was to travel back three and a half weeks to update your past self on Tottenham Hotspur’s season. And that you emerged blinking into the evening of Saturday, April 18, when Spurs had just drawn 2-2 at home with Brighton and Hove Albion, stung by a 95th-minute equaliser, and West Ham were in 17th place, one point ahead of Spurs with one game in hand.

Now imagine that you broke the news to your past self that on May 12, with two games left each, Spurs were out of the relegation zone, two points ahead of West Ham and with a much better goal difference. Your past self would surely give your future self a big, grateful hug.

Spurs are not just alive, but also have a clear, meaningful lead in the table. Their situation has drastically improved over those three and a half weeks, and they are still favourites to stay up.

And yet despite all of that, there is no avoiding the fact that this single point earned by Spurs felt more like a defeat than a win. It certainly felt like a significant missed opportunity for Tottenham. This was a clear chance to win their third straight league game and increase their margin over West Ham to four points. Do that, and West Ham would have needed to win at Newcastle just to stay alive. It would have felt as if Spurs had one solid foot in next season’s Premier League. All they would have to do was pull themselves up over the ledge.

Even more painful is the fact that with less than 20 minutes left at a tense Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday night, they were on their way. They were 1-0 up. They had created more than enough chances to kill the game. All they needed was a second goal. Three golden points were within the clutch of their fingers. But it was Leeds who scored the game’s second goal.

There are plenty of ways of analysing what happened on Monday. But, ultimately, this game told us a very clear story about why Tottenham are where they are. And why it is difficult for Spurs fans, even despite their team’s recent upturn, to feel confident about the last two games.

There have been plenty of problems at Tottenham this season. They started with the wrong manager, dallied over sacking him, only to eventually replace him in February with another bad fit. There has been a clear lack of conviction, belief and confidence in how they have played. Momentum has been nonexistent, with no league win between December 28 and April 25. For much of that time, the players looked as if they had a mental block, something that was stopping them from being themselves on the pitch.

None of this was true on Monday. Spurs have a world-class manager. The players are fully bought into his approach. They run as hard as they can to realise his ideas on the pitch. They have just won their last two away games. Confidence is higher than it has been all season.

But a top manager, commitment and confidence can only get you so far. Monday was a reminder of what the true limiting factor is for Tottenham right now, the biggest single obstacle between them and survival. And that is the quality and depth of their attacking options.

Everyone knows the back story by now. Spurs started the season with a patchy squad. Dejan Kulusevski has not played for a year. Mohammed Kudus has suffered two quad injuries. Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are both out with ACLs. Dominic Solanke is also injured.

That leaves Spurs with just three fit forwards: Richarlison, Mathys Tel and Randal Kolo Muani. Those three had to start at Villa Park, when Spurs won 2-1, and they started again on Monday. Short of playing a midfielder out wide, De Zerbi has no other options.

Tottenham worked hard on Monday and dominated long spells. But they needed a proper lead to defend, given that they were always going to tire in the second half, with no firepower on the bench. And the players were not able to deliver it.

Early on, Pedro Porro played Richarlison through, but he took a heavy touch, allowing Joe Rodon to recover. Richarlison could not get enough on another Porro cross from the right. Joao Palhinha drove into the box and stabbed over with his left foot. Rodrigo Bentancur met one of Spurs’ many corners but missed the target and Richarlison could not reach it at the far post. Time after time, the ball pinged around the box, but without the quality or luck required to turn it in.

Spurs did take the lead of course, Mathys Tel producing a brilliant clip into the far top corner, a reminder that he is very gifted, if raw. But Tottenham needed a second goal and the closest they came was Kolo Muani bursting down the right and crossing for Richarlison. It was not an easy finish, but Richarlison ballooned it over the bar.

Sure enough, Spurs’ wastefulness was punished. And as they searched for a winner, their only attacking options were Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison, two midfielders, one of whom has been out for a year. Even before Maddison’s penalty claim, he produced a clever little backheel to set through Conor Gallagher, who was unable to sort his feet out in the box.

There is no point in blaming Tel, Kolo Muani or Richarlison. All three of them worked hard. Kolo Muani produced one of his better performances, willing to get on the ball and run at defenders. But none of them are consistent elite players. Richarlison has 10 league goals this year, Tel four and Kolo Muani just one. And right now, they are all Tottenham have.

Now Tottenham still need at least one more win to stay up. They must somehow find a way of scoring goals, even without the raw materials that make that easy. They desperately need Solanke back for Chelsea next week. It is not a lack of trying that is the problem now. It is a lack of quality instead.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison has said that he experienced “dark days” during his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Maddison suffered a serious knee injury in the first leg of Spurs’ Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt on May 1 last year, that he said was a partial ACL tear. The England international missed the rest of the 2024-25 season including the Europa League final victory over Manchester United in Bilbao.

The 29-year-old attempted to come back in a pre-season friendly against Newcastle United in South Korea at the beginning of August but lasted barely minutes on the pitch before he was stretchered off. He left the stadium on crutches and it was revealed he had suffered an ACL rupture in the same knee.

“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,” Maddison told a group of reporters, including The Athletic, after Spurs’ game against Leeds United on Monday. “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. So in my head it’s not really been like that it’s been longer.”

The England international was expected to miss the entire 2025-26 campaign but returned to Tottenham’s squad for last month’s 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. Head coach Roberto De Zerbi was coy about the midfielder’s fitness and insisted he was mainly included for his leadership qualities.

He made his first competitive appearance in over 12 months in Spurs’ 1-1 draw with Leeds. The entire stadium applauded Maddison when he replaced Mathys Tel in the 85th minute and Leeds head coach Daniel Farke, who worked with the midfielder at Norwich City, shook his hand and embraced him at full-time.

“(It) was an amazing moment which will live with me forever that reception I got today,” Maddison said. “There have been some dark days in the last year, especially since the surgery. It has been a really tough year for me mentally but I’m at the end of the tunnel now so I can kind of look back on that with fondness because I’m as mentally strong as I can be after going through that. Physically I feel really good so the moment personally is something that will live with me forever the reception Spurs fans gave me.

“No, there was never any doubt about getting back, it was more the sadness of what I would miss and for the longevity of it. I knew once I had the surgery, these days there is so much research and work that has gone into ACL injuries. It is the most researched injury there is. It’s actually quite simple rehab. It’s just a real grind and it’s long and it’s hard.

Spurs’ draw with Leeds leaves them two points above the relegation zone with two games remaining. 18th-placed West Ham United face Newcastle at St James Park on Sunday afternoon and Tottenham face Chelsea next Tuesday. West Ham’s final game of the season is against Leeds at the same time Spurs host Everton.