Tottenham have suffered a major blow ahead of the 2025/26 season after James Maddison went down with what looked like a serious knee injury in the closing stages of their pre-season clash with Newcastle in Seoul.
The game ended in a 1-1 draw, Harvey Barnes equalising for Newcastle after Brennan Johnson had given Spurs an early lead, but until the late drama had been most notable for marking Son Heung-min’s farewell to Spurs after 10 years of stellar service.
Club captain Son had announced in the build-up to this friendly in his home country that he had decided to leave Spurs this summer, and he broke down in tears after being substituted midway through the second half.
But Son’s departure has now been potentially compounded by the injury to Maddison, who went down in obvious distress with no other player around him in the final 10 minutes, with the reactions of his team-mates suggesting a major problem before he left the field on a stretcher.
Spurs’ new manager Thomas Frank confirmed after the game that it looked a ‘bad injury’. Maddison left the stadium on crutches with his right leg heavily strapped. He spent time out of the team towards the end of last season after an injury to the same knee.
If that injury is as expected a serious one that rules Maddison out for an extended period on the back of Son’s departure, then it leaves Spurs looking short in attacking areas.
Spurs have already endured a difficult summer in the transfer market. An attempt to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest appeared to be a done deal but descended into an acrimonious affair with threats of legal action and official complaints before Gibbs-White committed his future to Forest.
Spurs have Johnson – who was the leading scorer last season and netted the winner in the Europa League final – as well as Dominic Solanke, while the anticipated departure of Richarlison has yet to materialise. Mathys Tel’s loan move from Bayern Munich has been made permanent to bolster the attacking ranks but with Son on his way and the potential for Maddison to spend an extended spell on the sidelines there is likely to be increased urgency from Spurs’ recruitment drive in attacking areas.