The reception 'Madders' received when he came on against Leeds United last Monday night was a truly special moment at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one which filled our number 10 with happiness and pride to feel that energy from our supporters.
Ending his 375-day wait to play a competitive fixture for the club, he put his toughest 12 months behind him and was back where he belonged battling it out in Lilywhite as we pushed for a winner in the closing stages last time out.
He almost did it - driving into the box deep into stoppage-time and going down with clear contact from Lukas Nmecha - but VAR deemed the Leeds forward played the ball first and no penalty was awarded as it ended 1-1 in the Premier League.
Over a year since initially damaging his knee in the first leg of our UEFA Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt on 1 May 2025 - an injury which ruled him out of the final in Bilbao - and 277 days after rupturing his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) during pre-season - the 29-year-old was back doing what he loves.
At the full-time whistle, Madders - who had his family in the crowd - put his hand on his heart and waved to our fans in N17 to show his appreciation on the night and has again reiterated his gratitude to the Spurs family during an exclusive interview with the club.
"The excitement just to see me back just makes me feel so happy to be part of this club, to represent this club and them fans," said the England international.
"Thank you to them for giving me that moment because without them that doesn't happen and I've missed it so much. I've missed them. To have my family there, all in the crowd as well to witness that, it’s special for them as well, so very thankful.
"It took me two minutes to kind of just calm down in my own head and refocus. But once I had my first couple of touches with the ball, it felt like I'd never been away, so that felt good and the crowd gave me so much positivity every time I touched the ball.
“I just felt the energy towards me, so again, just thankful to them and hopefully I can repay them."
Watch | James Maddison's ACL Recovery: The Interview