Maddison eyeing return this season as he reveals Bentancur and Romero support

James Maddison is eyeing a return 'towards the end' of the season and thanked Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero for the role they played following his anterior cruciate ligament injury in August.

'Madders' revealed that the South American pair stayed behind to support and console the midfielder who had just suffered the injury to his right knee late on in our final pre-season Tour outing against Newcastle United on 3 August at the Seoul World Cup Stadium.

Our number 10 documented that he was back at Hotspur Way on 15 August, three days after undergoing surgery, to initiate his road to recovery and spent some time catching up with his team-mates for the first time since the incident in South Korea.

After a warm embrace when greeting Rodrigo, Madders took the opportunity to show his appreciation for his fellow midfielder: "Thank you again, bro. Seriously, [for what you did] in Korea, because you and Cuti came in and sat with me.

"My head was all over the place, you know, probably because you've experienced it as well. But, I appreciate that a lot, bro, you sat with me, I appreciate that a lot. You're a good friend."

Rodrigo, who knows the feeling all too well having experienced a long-term absence from an ACL injury sustained in January 2023, then offered advice and words of encouragement: "Take time with your family.

"The first two months, probably, you'll need extension and mobility, this is the most important thing. But you didn't do the meniscus, only the ligaments, so you wont need nine months like me."

Meanwhile, Cuti, who was made Club captain following Heung-Min Son's departure following that preseason fixture in Seoul, clearly showed his leadership qualities by supporting Madders at his time of need and the pair also shared a similarly wholesome exchange at our training ground.

"Hey bro, I said to Rodrigo earlier, thank you so much for Korea," said the 28-year-old. "You and Rodrigo coming into the changing room because my head was in a different world. I appreciate you coming to sit with me until I was alright - I'll never forget that."

To which his skipper, rather succinctly, responded: "You're family." 

Despite being faced with a long spell on the sidelines, Madders received an early boost from Thomas Frank who named him as part of a five-strong leadership group alongside captain Cuti as well as Ben Davies, Guglielmo Vicario and Micky van de Ven. 

Now one month post-operation in what will be his longest spell out with injury, the England international admitted he will be patient with his recovery process but was optimistic that if all goes to schedule then he can still play a part before the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

"I've already looked [at the average time out], if it's eight months, six months isn't a question. The stage I'm at now, this needs to be right now," he said.

"I'm 28, I'm going to be 29 when I return, I'm in my prime, really. These are my peak years ahead of me. I need to come back and I need to stay fit. So actually I'm not going to be pushing to say 'oh why are you taking so long', sort of thing.

"But if it gets to eight months and we're flying or whatever, if I'm in the right frame, that will allow me to play this season won't it, towards the end."