Spurs' Maddison Out for Months After ACL Surgery Shock

Spurs have announced that James Maddison requires surgery to fix a ruptured his ACL (Image: (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images))

Tottenham star James Maddison is set to undergo surgery after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament, the club have confirmed

The attacking midfielder was working his way back to full fitness with cameos in pre-season after suffering a knee injury at the end of last season. However, his recovery plan was brought to a grinding halt when he went over holding the same knee in the latter stages of the 1-1 draw to Newcastle.

In the immediate aftermath, Thomas Frank delivered some far from positive news on Maddison with the verdict hardly surprising given his reaction and the fact he was carried off on a stretcher.

Speaking to SPURSPLAY , Frank said: “It’s most likely he has a bad injury, we need to be honest with that, it’s the same knee as the previous injury. Of course, we don't know the full assessment of it, so we need to see that.”

Frank's worst fears have now been confirmed though, with Spurs announcing the severity of his issue and the plan going forward on Thursday morning.

"We can confirm that James Maddison will undergo surgery for a ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in his right knee," a club statement read .

"The 28-year-old midfielder suffered the injury during our pre-season friendly against Newcastle United on Sunday in Seoul.

"His surgery will take place in the coming days and, following that, James will then begin his rehabilitation with our medical team.

"Everyone at Tottenham Hotspur wishes James a full and speedy recovery. We will be supporting him every step of the way."

With Dejan Kulusevski also expected to miss the first few months of the season, the need to sign a new attacking midfielder over the coming weeks has become paramount.

Xavi Simons, Eberechi Eze, Enzo Millot and Morgan Gibbs-White have all been looked at by Spurs but none of the quartet look set to join for a number of very different reasons. Pape Sarr has performed well in a more advanced role during pre-season but a much more permanent solution is needed.

Frank's short-term plans for that position will likely become clearer very soon as Spurs face Bayern Munich in their final friendly today before the competitive games start the following week. Just a few days before their Premier League opener at home to Burnley, the Lilywhites face Paris Saint-Germain in the Super Cup.

Alongside Maddison and Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie and Kota Takai are others currently missing with injury issues.