James Maddison was joyful to have recovered from his ACL injury and start again for Tottenham.
The attacking midfielder is the key creative spark of the side, but his playing time has been disrupted for several seasons because of injuries.
Having featured from the bench in the latter stages of the 2025/26 campaign, he finally was given a spot in the starting eleven from the get-go on Monday.
Maddison's long road back
He marked the moment with the opening goal of the game against Coventry City, struggling to hold in his happiness against his old club after finding the back of the net. Goals from Omar Marmoush and Ben Davies then paved the path towards a 3-1 victory and a memorable evening for Maddison.
“I hoped [to start]. I spoke to the gaffer about this week and feeling like the right moment for me to go back into the starting 11 after a stop-start, start to the season. I wanted to show my quality and what the team's missed in the last 18 months since my last start. The gaffer asked me to play and said he wanted to enjoy watching me from the side. Hopefully I did that. Getting the goal is always nice.
“[The goal was] just a bit blurry. They're the ones you dream of. Recovering from the ACL last year, those dark days. There the ones you dream of, those goals. Always the light at the tunnel for you.
“And for Dejan Kulusevski I felt proud for him because I knew exactly how he felt. Those moments and those goals they make it all worth it.
Thriving between the lines
“I operate best in the pockets on the outside of the lines. I was popping up on the left, right and centrally. And that's where I'm at my best. Between the lines and being able to pick up the pockets of space and that's where the goal came from."