The Tottenham midfielder is nearing a return after ninth months out of the game but it was not to be at Villa Park on Sunday evening
James Maddison is closing in on his return for Tottenham after nine months out but it did not come in the win at Aston Villa on Sunday.
The 29-year-old has been out of action since rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Spurs ' pre-season friendly against Newcastle in South Korea last August. Maddison has worked on his recovering since his surgery and re-joined training last month with his team-mates.
The England international has been named on the bench for the past three Premier League games but new boss Roberto De Zerbi made it clear initially that the midfielder was there simply to be part of the group and a positive voice in the dressing room.
Ahead of Sunday's game at Villa Park, the head coach hinted in his club interview that Maddison was getting closer to playing and at his press conference said: "I don't know [if he will play against Villa], I would like to play with him, because he's a special player, he's a different player, but we have to consider the physical condition, a lot of things. But I think he can be important in the next three games."
That suggested it was already planned that Maddison could be returning for Tottenham's final three matches of the Premier League campaign against Leeds United, Chelsea and Everton.
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That would tie in with something that football.london noticed during Spurs' 2-1 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday.
Maddison was fully involved in the warm-up before the match and did his work down the sidelines at Villa Park at points during the game, however he was always just wearing just white Nike sport socks rather than the long yellow match socks. It might be that the midfielder has that as his routine when he is a substitute, but it was noticeable that he was only the substitute from either club not wearing match socks.
He was not brought in added time at the end of the game with Lucas Bergvall and Pape Matar Sarr coming on instead despite the 2-0 scoreline at that point.
Maddison will be hoping that after another eight days of training, next Monday's game against Leeds might him a couple of minutes to perform once again in front of the fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
At some point before this season is done, the experienced playmaker will play his part in trying to keep Spurs up, even if it's just for a few crucial moments but that could be enough.