Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison has withdrawn from the England squad set to face Malta and North Macedonia in this month’s international fixtures.
The playmaker suffered an ankle injury during Tottenham’s 4-1 defeat against Chelsea on Monday and has subsequently pulled out of Gareth Southgate’s squad.
The 26-year-old will now focus on rehabilitation and hope to be back after the international break.
Maddison, one of the best summer signings, has become a central figure for manager Ange Postecoglou.
The former Leicester City attacking midfielder has bagged three goals and five assists in his 11 Premier League appearances for Spurs.
He will be a massive miss for Tottenham when they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers tomorrow.
Tottenham will hope to have him back when they face Aston Villa later this month, but there is no stated timeline for his recovery.
Maddison is not the only injury concern Postecoglou has to worry about ahead of the Wolves clash tomorrow as Spurs suffered several casualties against their London rivals.
Micky van de Ven has been one of the best defenders in the league since joining from Wolfsburg over the summer, but he pulled up after a race with Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson and had to come off.
The early prognosis is that he will not require surgery but will be out until January.
The problems do not stop there, as left-back Destiny Udogie picked up a red card after two yellows for wreckless challenges, meaning he will be unavailable tomorrow.
Cristian Romero received a straight red for a mindless challenge on international teammate Enzo Fernandez and is also suspended.
Richarlison has undergone surgery for a groin problem and is ruled out.
Spurs are looking very light but will need to pull up their socks for tomorrow as they look to keep their title challenge alive after the Chelsea setback.
