Spurs ace Maddison gives update on 'slow burner' injury

James Maddison says his ankle ligament injury is a "slow burner" but insists the recovery process is going well.

The Tottenham playmaker began the season on fire after moving to North London from Leicester this summer, scoring three goals and providing five assists in 11 Premier League appearances.

But Maddison's promising start to the campaign was cruelly interrupted when he picked up the serious problem in last month's 4-1 defeat to Chelsea.

The 27-year-old is expected to be out of action until January at the earliest and he says the injury situation is "frustrating", with Spurs also without the services of key players Micky van de Ven and Rodrigo Bentancur.

Speaking to Ben Foster for Amazon Prime, Maddison said: "It's healing well, it's a bit of a slow burner which is obviously frustrating because like you said, I started the season so well. But it's healing, slowly but surely.

"I've had a couple [of injuries], this is probably the longest one I've had if it's three months. I've never really gone past that.

"It's frustrating, you know what it's like being injured, everyday is tough, especially at Spurs, the training ground has got the big window so the physio room is just looking perfectly out to the training pitch watching all the lads train and prepare for the games at the minute.

"You have that helpless feeling but it's recovering well. It's going to take a bit of time, you've got to just accept it and then crack on with the rehab."

Maddison told Foster a return in six to seven weeks time is on the cards, which could put him contention for Spurs' home match against Brentford on January 30.

The five-cap international will be eager to pick up where he left off with Euro 2024 on the horizon — and serious competition for places in Gareth Southgate's final England squad.