The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder finally made his return from his ACL injury on Monday night and opened up on his long journey back
James Maddison admits that the reaction of the Tottenham fans will live with him forever after he finally returned from injury following nine months of recovery.
The 29-year-old stepped out for the first time in Spurs ' 1-1 draw with Leeds on Monday night after recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in pre-season in South Korea. As he was called back from his warm-up in the 85th minute, the bulk of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium rose to their feet and applauded as his long jouney back finally came to an end.
Maddison, who was involved in a last-gasp penalty incident that was not given after a VAR check, admitted that his road back began earlier than that summer friendly against Newcastle and instead stretched to May last year and Spurs' Europa League semi-final first leg.
"It was longer than that for me. In my head it goes back to the Europa League semi-final here when I got injured here [at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium] because I did a partial ACL tear against Bodo/Glimt. I was told by the [external] specialist it wouldn’t need surgery and rehab," he said.
"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.
"But that being said that was still an amazing moment which will live with me forever that reception I got today. 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 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."
What happened with Maddison looks to have been bad luck as the leading knee surgeon Andy Williams, who performed the operation on him after the summer injury, had said in the midfielder's YouTube video in the weeks after: "You did nothing wrong, I saw your scans originally and I would have treated it exactly the same way. I have this scenario every month or two. Usually you get away with it, not always but it may have happened with that manoeuvre anyway."
FOLLOW OUR TOTTENHAM FB PAGE! Latest Spurs news, analysis and much more via our dedicated Facebook page
Maddison said on Monday night that while he never worried about returning it was the length of time involved in an ACL recovery that got him down.
"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," he said.
"It’s actually quite simple rehab it's just a real grind and it's long and it's hard. It's just not very tricky because of the amount of research that has gone into it. So I just had to do the work, there is 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 and I'm really grateful for the physios who worked with me and sports scientists and everyone who has made it possible for me to come back and feel this good."
On those who helped him through the dark days, the England international said: "My partner, my parents, my children, the physios, the players, everyone. Sometimes you just have to deal with yourself. 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. So many tough moments but proud of myself for how hard I have worked to get back to this position to be able to come back and play in the Premier League."
What has also been difficult for Maddison has been watching the team struggle in his absence and despite an uptick in form under new boss Roberto De Zerbi they only sit two points above the drop zone with two games remaining.
"Definitely [it's tough] because you watch through a lens of 'what would I be doing? What could I do differently?' It’s been a tough season for Tottenham. Really tough for the fans, really tough for the players. Lots of manager changes. It's been a season to forget really. Not being able to affect it and help the club has been difficult," he said.
Maddison ended up playing far longer on Monday evening than he or De Zerbi would have expected after a minimum of 13 minutes of added time were announced by the fourth official and that ended up stretching to 15 minutes, meaning the midfielder was on the pitch for 20 minutes on his return. For context, Rodrigo Bentancur and Radu Dragusin played a handful of minutes on their returns from ACL injuries in recent seasons.
For Maddison though it was about getting back in the groove as quickly as he could as Spurs tried to find a late winner that unfortunately would never come.
"Once I was out there and the first 30 seconds to a minute had gone by it was like 'now I’m on the pitch we need to get a winner here'. The nice moment had gone. It was almost straight down to business," he admitted.
"I would rather be safe and 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 anyway when the adrenaline kicks in. When you get your first touch it's just another game and I felt really good."
Joao Palhinha called Maddison an important figure in the dressing room and the returning Spurs star would only say that he hopes he can convey what the supporters demand to his team-mates.
"You would have to ask the other players that. I always try and help. I think I'm one of the more vocal players in the changing room. Being English and being from this country and knowing what it means for the fans I can feel that and portray that in a way to players from other countries or who don’t speak the language so perfectly or younger players who maybe don’t understand as much as I do," he said.
"I just try to help and say whatever I feel will help the team or the individual player. If that is leadership that is leadership and I will always try to do that no matter what."