James Maddison's Toughest Year: Injury, Family, and Spurs' Struggles

James Maddison laughs when he calls it “the trenches”. It doesn’t sound like much of an exaggeration.

Five children aged four and under. Two sets of twins. A serious knee injury. A lost season. All crammed into one brutal year that the Tottenham midfielder describes as the toughest of his life.

That story – on the pitch and at home – is laid bare in the first episode of the new series of The Football Interview, airing on BBC One at 12:45 every Saturday during the Premier League season, and also on BBC iPlayer, BBC Football’s YouTube channel and the BBC Sport website and app. Kelly Somers opens the campaign by sitting down with Maddison, who has lived a whole career’s worth of drama in 12 months.

A year lost – and a house full of nappies

Maddison, now 29, missed almost the entire 2025-26 season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament last August. While his team-mates fought to stay in the Premier League, he was stuck at home, rehabbing a knee and helping raise a young family that suddenly got even bigger.

During his recovery, his partner gave birth to their second set of twins.

“I needed that positive distraction of my partner being pregnant and having to be there for her and forget about myself, even though I was going through a traumatic experience through my knee,” he told Somers.

The distraction came with chaos.

“A lot of nappies flying about, a lot of accidents at home, but it’ll all be worth it,” he said. “We still love it. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

The injury didn’t just take football away from Maddison. It also changed how his eldest son, Leo, saw him.

“I missed a year of football, and a year in a child’s life – from three and a half to four and a half – it’s obviously massive,” he said. “He couldn’t even remember over a year ago when he was at all the games.

“It would be nice for him to come to the games again and actually remember Dad playing instead of just Dad sat at home watching him with a machine on his knee.”

Spurs in trouble, Maddison helpless

While Maddison fought his way back from an ACL, Tottenham stumbled through a grim campaign. They secured survival only on the final day, finishing two points above the relegation zone. For a player who thrives on being the creative heartbeat, watching from the sofa cut deep.

“We probably struggled a little bit for creativity and I’m watching the games thinking, ‘what would I be doing there?’,” he admitted.

He could only imagine the passes, the pockets of space, the moments where he might have tilted a match. Instead, he was reduced to a spectator, strapped to a rehab machine as his club flirted with disaster.

De Zerbi’s reset: football, tactics and a night out

The mood began to shift when Roberto de Zerbi arrived in March. The Italian head coach, known for his intricate tactics and obsession with detail, brought something else with him too: a demand that Spurs fall back in love with the game.

“He’s very clever. He’s very tactical. He’s obsessed with football, you can see that,” said Maddison.

But De Zerbi didn’t walk in and bury the squad under complex schemes.

“When he first came in – in comparison to pre-season and what we’re training now – he didn’t want to make it too complicated. He just wanted us to get the love back for playing football.”

One of his first moves was not on the training pitch, but at the dinner table. A team meal. Alcohol allowed. No lectures, no dry rules.

The 29-year-old recalled De Zerbi’s message: “We’re all going to be drinking alcohol, we’re all going to be having a good night.”

“He wanted us to have a night where we all just relax,” Maddison explained. “That feeling that we got made everyone feel more knitted together, straight away.”

The Italian also made a point of involving his injured playmaker. Even when Maddison felt nowhere near ready, De Zerbi wanted him on the bench.

“I was almost like, ‘I’m not ready to play yet, boss’,” Maddison said.

“But he said no. He said I can come on the bench in my slippers if I want. He just wanted me around the group and he thought that would benefit the group. I took that as a massive compliment and just acted as if I was part of the bench, part of the team.

“I’m not saying that’s the reason why, but we managed to steer clear of the danger, which was a good feeling.”

Back on the pitch – and looking ahead

Maddison finally made his return against Leeds on 11 May, a long-awaited step after months of rehab and doubt. Tottenham have been careful since, refusing to risk him in pre-season so far.

He is not hiding his ambition for the months ahead.

“I’m working so hard to try and be fully fit and available for the majority of the season,” he said. “I want just a fully fit, healthy season where I can just enjoy football.

“Because if I’m fully fit and I’m healthy, then I know what I’m capable of. And I know that I can affect games more than a lot of players in this league. So, let’s just hope for that.”

From nappies and night feeds to De Zerbi’s late rescue act, Maddison has come through a year that could have broken him. The question now is simple: with his knee healed and his club stabilised, how much can he bend the Premier League to his will again?