James Maddison has admitted that Tottenham's injured senior stars have felt "helpless" at a time when young players have had "to take on great responsibility" in the team's hour of need. Ange Postecoglou's side have endured some horrendous luck on the injury front throughout the 2024/25 campaign but things do appear to be easing up at such a crucial time in the the calendar.

Maddison is one of five players to have returned to action over the past fortnight, with Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson also doing likewise. Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke currently remain out injured but are expected to be back in early March.

Since making his comeback, Maddison has had a big say in Tottenham's last two wins after scoring the winner against Manchester United and registering an assist in last Saturday's 4-1 win at Ipswich Town. Now that he is back on the field for Spurs, the 28-year-old has given an insight into what it has been like in the Tottenham dressing room with so many injuries.

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"The physio room was busier than the changing room. It's tough," he explained. "You look at the names who were out as well, it wasn't bit-part players, it was strong players from the XI, senior players. So it was difficult.

"We've got a lot of young players having to take on great responsibility. When you're a senior player who's out - and I only had a small injury but I'm talking for the likes of Cuti Romero, Micky van de Ven, even Vicario was out for three months. It's tough for them seeing the young lads having to deal with it, without being able to help.

"That's the worst thing about football when you're injured. You're helpless, you can't help the team out there, you have to watch. It drives you insane."

Previously only having a couple of senior options on his substitutes' bench over the past couple of months, things have changed for Postecoglou in the past two games. The boss was able to bring on players such as Maddison, Odobert, Yves Bissouma and Pedro Porro at Portman Road, with Dane Scarlett also introduced and notching an assist for Dejan Kulusevski's goal in his game time.

On having quality players to bring off the bench, Maddison said: "It's different, isn't it? It was 2-1, it was a tight game, everyone could see that, and I was at 60 minutes, me and Wilson come on, it just changed the dynamic of the game a little bit.

"Whereas rewind six weeks, we didn't have them options, we would have been starting, and there would have been kids on the bench, and there wouldn't have been any changes at 60. It's not rocket science... it doesn't have to be someone extremely intelligent to realise that can really help, especially when a big team with the quality that we have to utilise that when teams like Ipswich, no disrespect, have less quality than us throughout the squad, that we can bring on players like myself, Wilson, if they're not in the XI, and really change the swing of the game."

Maddison's calf strain came at a really frustrating time for Postecoglou and the player as he had just played an instrumental role in a must-win game at Hoffenheim in the Europa League. The former Leicester City man has carried on from where he left off and he now has ten goals and seven assists to his name for the season after his latest heroics.

"Yeah, I left the ground running in Hoffenheim and I got a goal and an assist that night as well, so I feel good, I feel really good actually, I feel sharp," he admitted. "The injury was a bit annoying because it came at a time where I felt like I was playing pretty well, but it's always nice when you have a little injury and you're out for a few weeks and you come back and hit the ground running.

"I did that last week, we did the goal against United, and then today as well, it always feels better when the team's winning as well. Like I said, I need a few more moments of momentum now and keep going."

Maddison has already bettered his goal tally from last season after scoring four goals in all competitions in his debut campaign at the club, and he needs two assists to draw level with the nine he contributed in 2023/24. Given his current form and the numbers he has registered, an England recall could possibly be on the cards.

Ahead of Thomas Tuchel announcing his first Three Lions squad later next month, Maddison has revealed that he has been contacted by the German.

"Yeah, he has touched base," said Maddison. "I think he was reaching out to a lot of players who would be in the selection, probably quite a big pool of players that the FA who have identified.

"I'm hungry to be part of that, I feel like I'm in good form, my numbers are pretty good, there's not too many midfielders who can outscore and out-assist me, especially now when I'm feeling good as well, feeling sharp, I know I can affect most games.

"It's just about continuing to do that and like I always say, if I play at that level from Tottenham, then the rest will take care of itself because I have a really strong self-belief."

Maddison's form could prove crucial to Tottenham's form between now and May as they look to finish as high as possible in the Premier League and also triumph in the Europa League. Tottenham are currently six points off the top half but they currently have momentum behind them in their quest to leapfrog their rivals in the league table.

“I think we're one of the teams in the league that can go on a winning streak, we showed it at the start of last season. We have the squad and the players to be able to do that," said Maddison.

"I think there'll be teams that are in and around the same position as us, mid-table-ish, that probably don't feel like they can, but our ceiling is quite high, especially when we have our senior players back, so we're capable of going on that run and bridging that gap, and that's what we're hoping to do.”

Set to face Manchester City, Bournemouth and Fulham in their next three league games, Spurs do have the chance to whittle down the lead by getting the better of sides above them in the table currently.

"We're talking a lot about the logistics there," he quipped. "We've just got to take every game and keep winning, it's three in a row, so it's good momentum for us in the league.

"City at home, I think at home we can beat anyone, really, it's just about sticking together consistently and hoping to get a couple more good results before that international break."

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