Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that James Maddison will miss the rest of the season with the knee injury he sustained in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final with Bodo/Glimt.
The former Leicester City playmaker came up with Spurs’ second goal of last week’s 3-1 success over the Norwegian side, putting Tottenham on the verge of a trip to Bilbao for this season’s final.
However, victory came at a cost for Maddison as he was forced off in the second half at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and the Englishman was quickly sent for scans to determine the extent of the damage.
Following reports over the weekend that Maddison would not be available for the remainder of the season, Postecoglou confirmed as such in his pre-game press conference before Thursday’s second leg.
“He’ll miss the rest of this season, disappointing for him,” football.london quotes Postecoglou as saying. “I’m disappointed for him because he’s been a real catalyst for us.
Postecoglou: ‘Maddison injury is story of our season’
“He’ll miss out but that’s been the story of our season. Everyone else from the first leg has travelled and they’re ready to go.”
Maddison’s devastating blow means that the 28-year-old will end the season with a record of 23 goal contributions from 45 matches in all competitions this season, hitting double figures in terms of both goals (12) and assists (11).
The England international is one of two creative midfield forces to miss out for Tottenham, who also lost Lucas Bergvall to a season-ending ankle injury prior to last week’s first-leg success.
With neither Maddison nor Bergvall fit to face Bodo/Glimt, Dejan Kulusevski is expected to pull the strings in the most advanced midfield role for Tottenham, as the Swede aims to regain his early-season form after a foot problem.
Kulusevski has also registered 10 goals and 10 assists across all competitions this season, but he has failed to register a direct involvement in any of his six appearances since recovering from injury.
Maddison and Bergvall are two of three Spurs players who have already played their final game this season, as Radu Dragusin remains on the long road to recovery from a cruciate ligament injury.
In addition, Tottenham captain Son Heung-min will play no part in the second leg as he recuperates from a foot concern, but Dominic Solanke – who also came off in last week’s first leg – has been given the all-clear.
“No [Son hasn’t travelled]. Dom is fine and ready to go, he’s trained with the team. Disappointing for Sonny. He has progressed and he’s a possibility to get minutes at the weekend but he hasn’t trained with the team yet,” Postecoglou added.
Either Manchester United or Athletic Bilbao will await Spurs in the Europa League final should they avoid a two-goal or three-goal collapse on Thursday, most likely the former following their 3-0 triumph away from home in their first leg.
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