James Maddison Fit for Tottenham vs Crystal Palace Clash

Tottenham will have James Maddison fit and available when Crystal Palace arrive in north London on Saturday, easing fears that their playmaker was set for another spell on the sidelines.

Maddison hobbled off just six minutes into the second half of Spurs’ 2-0 win at Chelsea, a night that delivered a landmark result but also a familiar wince from a player whose season has never quite settled. Given his recent history, the concern was instant.

This is a midfielder still being carefully managed after returning in May from anterior cruciate ligament damage. His start to the campaign has been cautious, fragmented, his workload handled with kid gloves. So when he limped away at Stamford Bridge, it felt like the script was about to repeat itself.

Not this time.

“James is available,” Roberto De Zerbi confirmed ahead of the Palace clash. “This week he didn't work like the other players, but for tomorrow he is available and he is a special player for us. A special player because of the character and he has unique characteristics.”

The Italian did not pretend Maddison is yet out of the woods. The work behind the scenes has been relentless.

“For James Maddison or the players who are coming from a long injury, they have to work more than the other players,” De Zerbi explained. “But he has already four or five weeks he is working very hard and consistently.

“So, I think it's not a problem if he loses two days (training), but then we have to analyse if we take risk or not. If we take risk like Pedro Porro (against Aston Villa) or (Dejan) Kulusevski. We are lucky to have a big squad and it's important to not take risk with new injuries.”

That last point has started to define Tottenham’s season as much as their football. Talent is not the issue. Availability has been.

Destiny Udogie, another key piece of De Zerbi’s aggressive, front-foot system, is also back in the frame. The full-back missed the wins over Coventry and Chelsea with a knee problem, having already battled a separate issue earlier in the campaign. He returns to the squad this weekend, but with caveats.

“He is available,” De Zerbi said, “but is another problematic player in terms of injuries now because he can't work consistently during the weeks.

“After Manchester United he didn't work with the group for a long time. And this season is different the situation because we have a great medical staff and we are taking the right decision for each player in the right moment and in the right situation.

“Maybe we made some mistake with Pedro, with Aston Villa, but not medical staff, it was together, me too and my staff, but it's part of the job.”

Those decisions now come with higher stakes. Spurs hit Palace on a surge of confidence, fresh from a statement win that cut through years of frustration at Stamford Bridge. That 2-0 victory was their first there in eight years, only their second Premier League away win against Chelsea in the modern era. It felt like more than three points; it felt like a psychological barrier smashed.

De Zerbi, though, refused to let the mood drift into self-congratulation.

“We have not achieved our goal,” he warned. “We want our fans to be happy, but not now, at the end of the season.

“Now we have to push. We have to stay focused. We have to increase, improve the spirit, the appetite to win games in a row.

“One or two times is not enough.”

The message is clear: Chelsea was a marker, not a destination. Crystal Palace, sitting 17th, will walk into a stadium expecting another assertive display, and De Zerbi is leaning heavily on the leadership within his dressing room to maintain that edge.

“I believe in my players as people because we have so many leaders in our group,” he said, before reeling off names: “(Andy) Robertson, (Micky) Van de Ven, Pedro Porro, JP Van Hecke, Sandro Tonali, Rodrigo Bentancur, Tosin (Adarabioyo), Ben Davies, Maddison.

“They want to push to keep the level of mentality, spirit and appetite high and especially now because football is going in this direction.”

Maddison and Udogie back, belief rising, and a manager demanding more. Tottenham have their momentum. The question now is whether they can live with the risks required to keep it.