Tottenham: Roberto De Zerbi reveals update on James Maddison and Mateus Fernandes fitness before Chelsea clash | OneFootball

Spurs being cautious with fitness of key players during pre-season tour in Australia

Roberto De Zerbi says he is not willing to take any risks with James Maddison’s fitness ahead of Tottenham’s friendly against Chelsea on Saturday.

Maddison has yet to feature in any of Spurs’ pre-season games this summer, with De Zerbi cautious not to rush the 29-year-old back into action after an injury-wrecked campaign last term.

Maddison missed the majority of the 2025/26 season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained in August last year during the final game of Tottenham’s pre-season tour of Asia against Newcastle.

The England midfielder returned to play a part in the final three matches as Spurs secured Premier League survival on the final day with a 1-0 win at home to Everton.

But despite being selected as part of the 36-man squad who travelled on Spurs’ latest pre-season tour of New Zealand and Australia, De Zerbi does not believe that Maddison is ready to be involved in Saturday’s friendly against London rivals Chelsea in Sydney.

Mateus Fernandes also will not be involved for the second game in a row after missing Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Sydney FC - with Spurs winning a penalty shootout 5-4 - due to what was described by his manager afterwards as fatigue in his calf.

Tottenham’s new £85million signing is expected to be ready to resume training when the squad return to London next week, having not taken part in an open session at Accor Stadium on Friday, where a video of the player appearing to walk with a slight limp caused more concern among fans on social media.

Setback: James Maddison has yet to play for Tottenham this summer after missing most of last season

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“James has a small problem,” De Zerbi told reporters in Sydney on Friday. “Like I said, I don't want to take any risks, especially in this part of the season.

“Especially for James, because he suffered a long injury last season. It's important for us, but for him and for Mateus Fernandes, the same. It's not the right moment to take risk. We'll work again when we're back in London.”

It is unclear at this stage what issue Maddison is managing, but it will be a great source of frustration for both De Zerbi and the player that he has been unable to get up to speed so far in pre-season.

De Zerbi has consistently underlined Maddison’s importance to Spurs, and he is expected to be one of the players in contention to take over as captain should current skipper Cristian Romero leave the club this summer as anticipated.

Tottenham have been managing the fitness of several first-team players during their pre-season tour, having left the likes of Dejan Kulusevski, Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert at home as they continue to recover from their respective long-term injuries.