Tottenham: De Zerbi reaches decision on Maddison starting vs Coventry as Marbella ban revealed
Things might finally be starting to look up for Tottenham Hotspur after Roberto De Zerbi revealed playmaker James Maddison is in line for his first start in more than 500 days, while Dejan Kulusevski is also ready to take his place on the bench after another enforced lay-off.
The England attacking midfielder’s last start for Spurs came in their 3-1 win over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League semi-finals all the way back in May 2025.
Since then, he has suffered two ACL tears, a minor one in that game against Bodo and a major one in a pre-season clash against Newcastle in South Korea in August 2025.
De Zerbi was asked if Maddison is finally in a position to start for Spurs ahead of their clash against Coventry on Monday, having played a total of 90 minutes from the bench in five substitute appearances so far this season.
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“Maybe. Maybe, yes.” he answered.
“Yes, I think of course you need to play many games to reach the best physical condition,” he continued. “But there are players able to be important even if they play 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes and James is one player like this.
“I think this season, right now, he’s ready to start the game. I don’t know if we start with him, but I’m waiting for that moment.”
Maddison could also be joined on the pitch by Dejan Kulusevski, who De Zerbi confirmed will be on the bench against the Sky Blues, having not featured for the club in 526 days with another serious knee issue.
De Zerbi will be without Savio and Lucas Bergvall, however, after he revealed the duo are both expected to be out for a short spell, while Rodrigo bentancur starts the first of his three-match ban for his red card at Man Utd.
De Zerbi reveals Marbella mobile phone ban
Somewhat surprisingly, given their current plight, De Zerbi decided to take his players for a warm-weather training camp to Marbella during the nine-day difference between the United and Coventry games. And the Italian has explained his thought process behind the trip and why he enforced a mobile phone ban.
“We worked on the pitch, we stayed together – we removed phones from breakfast, lunch and dinner to stay together because now it is like (phone) all the time,” De Zerbi said.
“We had two or three important meetings speaking about football, our situation and how everyone has to take responsibility. And nothing more. There were some dinners just for the players, some dinners just for the staff.
“As a coach you understand you have to improve, you have to change the situation and you try to find all solutions.
“I already did this type of training camp two times with Marseille and it was a good solution. I spoke with the club, with Vinai (Venkatesham), with Johan (Lange), with the owner and together we took the decision, but it’s nothing special.
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“It’s just to spend more time together because in pre-season we couldn’t. We had many new players and players who came back from the World Cup. Three or four days together without family, putting the club at the top of their priorities, is normal and is good.”
Asked if players were able to go out independently in Marbella, De Zerbi said: “Yes, with freedom. With no military rules. I love freedom.”
