Ange Postecoglou has provided a worrying injury update on James Maddison ahead of Tottenham’s Europa League clash at Bodo/Glimt.
The Spurs head coach was quizzed about the midfielder’s fitness after the 1-1 draw against West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Maddison, one of Tottenham’s most important attacking players, was not named in the squad for the Premier League clash with the Hammers.
The Englishman suffered a knee issue in the Europa League semi-final first leg clash against Bodo/Glimt, which Spurs won 3-1 at home on Thursday.
It was thought Maddison may return for the second leg in Norway on May 7 but Postecoglou has now admitted his injury could be worse than feared.
Speaking in his post-match press conference after the draw with West Ham, Postecoglou said: ‘No, it doesn’t look great.
‘We’re just waiting for further information. We’ll just wait and see. Hopefully we’ll probably get some clarity tomorrow (Monday). It’s fair to say it doesn’t look promising but I’ll just wait and see.’
Spurs striker Dominic Solanke also got hurt in the first leg win over Bodo/Glimt and missed the draw against West Ham this weekend.
Postecoglou was more positive about Solanke than Maddison, though, expecting him to return from a thigh problem for Thursday’s second leg.
‘Dom’s improving,’ the Australian added. ‘We obviously left him out today but the medical team are pretty confident he should be right for Thursday.’
Postecoglou spoke to BBC Match of the Day about Solanke and Maddison too ahead of the showdown with Bodo/Glimt.
‘We expect him to be OK for Thursday,’ Postecoglou said about Solanke. ‘Just left him out today to recover more. Madders is a bit more of a concern.’
Maddison’s absence would be a blow for Spurs, with the 28-year-old registering seven goal involvements in 11 Europa League times this term.
He scored in the semi-final first leg win over Bodo/Glimt before being replaced in the 65th minute.
Tottenham are desperate to get their hands on the Europa League title this season to end their 17-year wait for a major trophy, especially given how poor they’ve been in the Premier League this season, with the club currently sat 16th with three games left.
The north Londoners are very much prioritising the European competition, with Postecoglou making eight changes against West Ham on Sunday.
‘It’s something we’ve been doing for a while because we’ve had to,’ Postecoglou added. ‘We’ve had a wretched run with injuries – which still hasn’t eased up, to be fair. But with the opportunity we’ve got before us (in the Europa League), it made sense.’
Spurs are likely to face Manchester United in the final if they progress past Bodo/Glimt, with Ruben Amorim’s side defeating Athletic Bilbao 3-0 in the other Europa League semi-final first leg.