James Maddison and Luca Williams-Barnett injury updates as De Zerbi faces Tottenham problem

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The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder delivered an update on his absence this summer and it will be music to the ears of his head coach

James Maddison's positive injury update is just what Roberto De Zerbi needed to hear in a summer when the Tottenham boss has struggled for playmakers.

Maddison missed most of last season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered a year ago and returned to make three appearances from the bench in the final games of the campaign as Spurs managed to keep their place in the Premier League on the final day.

The midfielder has yet to appear in any pre-season fixtures though this summer despite heading off on the tour to New Zealand and Australia with the squad as a small problem, according to De Zerbi, prevented him from training.

Maddison provided a positive update on his status on Monday evening, taking a shot at social media speculation that he had suffered a recurrence of an old hip problem while revealing that he had trained with the team earlier in the day.

"Feeling good after another good session today with the team," he posted in an Instagram story. "Working so hard to be healthy and have a great year. Definitely haven't had any reoccurrence of any injury I've had before. Your itk isn't itk. Coys."

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That could mean the England international starts to get pre-season minutes against Hoffenheim on Saturday or Sunday, with back-to-back games against the German side to hand two different starting XIs fitness ahead of the Premier League opener for Tottenham at Brentford on August 22.

It comes after a summer in which, with his number 10 options limited, De Zerbi has turned to Conor Gallagher for the role with the 26-year-old scoring in Saturday's 70-minute friendly with Getafe.

Gallagher is a willing runner, can set the tone with the pressing and has done well in the position at Chelsea and before that West Brom but he's not a natural candidate for the job like Maddison or Xavi Simons.

It could be that with Spurs set to sign a couple of wingers in the weeks ahead De Zerbi is considering Mohammed Kudus when he returns to full fitness for a more central role than he played for the club last season. The Ghanaian has played as a 10 for his country and Dejan Kulusevski, when he returns to full training and then competitive action, can also play in that position.