James Maddison’s move to Tottenham was, without a doubt, one of the most exciting ones in the 2023/24 season. A move that no one could wait for to finally go through, including the club, as Maddison finally signed for Spurs from Leicester on the first day of the transfer window in the summer of 2023.
The move came off the back of some incredible performances for Leicester in the 22/23 season, which saw him score 10 goals and deliver 9 assists in 30 games for the Foxes.
His first season with Spurs was no different, as despite being injury-ridden throughout, he still managed to be a stud in midfield by scoring 4 goals and delivering 10 assists in 28 games in a new system under Ange Postecoglou.
His 24/25 season was one to remember as he delivered 9 goals and 7 assists for Spurs in the league in 31 games. However, due to a severe injury crisis towards the end of the season, Spurs ended up finishing 17th in the table, just above the relegation zone.
The memorable part of the season was, of course, when Spurs broke their 17-year-long trophy drought and won the Europa League against Manchester United in Bilbao. Maddison played a key role throughout the tournament, scoring 3 goals and delivering 4 assists. He did, unfortunately, miss the final due to a knee injury.
Everything seemed bright for Spurs heading into the new season, especially with Maddison recovering from the fact that the midfielder suffered a massive setback when he ruptured his right ACL in a friendly against Newcastle in August 2025. He was even at that point projected to miss a huge part of the 2025/26 season, considering the normal 9-12 month recovery period that revolves around an ACL injury.
It has been nearly 8 months since the devastating injury, and Maddison continues to work on his recovery and even shares regular updates with concerned Spurs fans. However, his most recent one raised concerns as one fan noted how much his right leg, the one with the injury, had lost muscle based on how it looked in a video shared by the spurs official Instagram account.
An ACL injury is actually so scary.
— Hotspur Lane (@HotspurLane) April 7, 2026
Look at the difference in the size of Maddison’s right leg to his left!
Do you think Madders will feature for #THFC this season? pic.twitter.com/YTiQGOe9p1
Losing muscle due to an ACL injury is not something that is unheard of and is definitely a phenomenon that does occur while players work through recovery. Take, for example, Bayern left back Alphonso Davies or LA Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig, who both shared their experiences of recovering from an ACL, and it becomes clear how much muscle is really lost.
However, in the case of Maddison, it appears not to be the case. The midfielder himself noticed the concerns, and he made a post talking about the angle of the video and how it might have seemed misleading. He also shared a photo of both his legs, and they seem to be coming along great.
BREAKING: James Madison via Instagram.
— Spurs Army (@SpursArmyTweets) April 8, 2026
“Admin needs to work on the angles of videoing… ” pic.twitter.com/5bWZvZmLmO
James Maddison is only one of the many players that are currently recovering from serious injuries, as Dejan Kulusevski and Ben Davies too try to get themselves up to fitness as soon as possible.
It is considerable that an injury to a player like Maddison, who is known for being Spurs’ main creator, could be one of the main reasons for Spurs sitting in the relegation zone.
With a return expected in early may, after the season ends spurs fans can only hope and pray that the club is able to pull off the great escape and start afresh with their star midfielder under new coach Roberto De Zerbi.
