James Maddison leaves friendly on stretcher in major blow to Tottenham before new season

James Maddison left Tottenham’s preseason friendly with Newcastle United on a stretcher with what appeared to be a serious injury after falling to the ground holding his knee during the game in South Korea.

Maddison appeared as a late substitute during the match, which ended 1-1 and acted as a farewell to Son Heung-min in his native country after the club captain announced he will exit this summer.

Maddison did not appear to make any contact with an opponent when he suddenly went down after chasing the ball and held his face in his hands.

“James Maddison’s injury looks bad,” admitted Spurs manager Thomas Frank. “It was a brutal moment.”

Frank also confirmed that Maddison had injured the same troubled knee which caused him to miss the end of last season.

The new manager is already without the departing Son and the injured Dejan Kulusevski, while efforts to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest were angrily rebuffed.

Mohammed Kudus has been bought from West Ham and Mathys Tel has been signed permanently from Bayern Munich after a brief loan spell last season. Spurs are also looking to sign Joao Palhinha from the Bundesliga champions.