James Maddison gives injury update as Tottenham star shows true colours

James Maddison is battling his way back to fitness as he continues his recovery from rupturing his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in a pre-season friendly

Tottenham midfielder James Maddison has admitted he is "feeling better each day" as he provided an injury update after spending some time away in the United Arab Emirates.

Maddison, 29, hasn't featured for Spurs after rupturing his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) during a pre-season friendly against Newcastle United. He underwent surgery and has since been working his way back to fitness.

Although the England international is expected to remain out for several more months as he carries on his rehabilitation, he is improving and making progress. Indeed, Maddison has trained for the last couple of weeks in Dubai and has been spotted working hard both on and off the pitch.

Alongside a number of photos showing his time out in the Middle East, Maddison said on Instagram: "Enjoyable few weeks away. Working hard & family time abroad = mental refresh.

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"Still got work to do but feeling better each day & cannot wait to be back out there representing Spurs. The grind continues [white love heart emoji, folded hands emoji]."

In the first image on his latest Instagram post, Maddison was looking in tip-top condition and showing off his muscular physique. The ex-Leicester man then put up a couple of photos of him enjoying some family time and work with a member of Tottenham's backroom staff.

While working in the gym with that member of staff, Maddison could be seen wearing a 2010/11 Tottenham light blue away shirt. It was the second time that he was seen donning a retro jersey during the trip, with Maddison, who was seen doing some dribbling and shooting drills on the grass, also wearing a replica home shirt from the 2011/12 season with Rafael van der Vaart's name on the back.

After scoring 12 goals and adding 11 assists in 45 appearances for Tottenham last season, Maddison was hoping to kick on and continue his form into 2025/26 with a World Cup around the corner.

However, Maddison, who last featured in a competitive game for Spurs now in April, is not expected to return until the back end of this season after tearing his ACL. Speaking about his recovery from injury, Maddison last month: "When I realised, obviously, I was going to be out for the majority of the season, if not the whole season, that kind of crushed that dream of going to the World Cup. It was a tough one to take.

"That's the cons of football and one of the negatives of missing out through injury. It's about dealing with that mentally. And that's partly why there's been some dark days.

"You want to represent your country, you always want to be in a position, especially off the back of a good season last year. Personally, with good numbers, I felt like I was close with Thomas Tuchel coming in.

"The first and foremost thing for me is just to come back safely and be fit. It's such a long injury. There are so many ups and downs that I just want to be in a place, returning and having a smile on my face and being fit for Tottenham Hotspur, whenever that is. It's going to be towards the end of the season, so the World Cup is probably going to be ruled out, if not definitely. So, it's one of them things.

"As I said, I'll take it on the chin and, yeah, it's one of those things that will drive me going forward."