In what would be an immense relief to Ange Postecoglou, James Maddison could return from injury in Tottenham Hotspur’s FA Cup tie at home to holders Manchester City even though the big Aussie is still unsure whether to start the midfielder in Friday’s fourth-round clash.
Maddison – out of action since suffering ankle ligament damage in a 4-1 loss to London rivals Chelsea in the Premier League on November 6 – still needs approval from Postecoglou to start for that match.
Maddison impressed after joining Spurs from Leicester in a £40-million move in June, amassing three goals in 12 appearances.
The England international is now set to feature against City but Postecoglou has still to firm up his starting lineup.
“He’s trained all week and he is fine,” Postecoglou told a pre-match press conference on Thursday.
“He is available and ready to start… when someone is available, I assume they are ready to start.
“Whether they do or not depends on what I see with everyone else tomorrow and I usually make those decisions on game day.
“Like I said, the beauty of it is he’s got through the week really well and is ready to go.”