Is James Maddison fit for Chelsea? Roberto De Zerbi could not say on Friday. Asked how Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski had reacted physically after Maddison started and Kulusevski came on in Monday’s 3-1 win over Coventry, the Tottenham head coach said Maddison did not train with the group in the first three days of the week and he does not know whether the midfielder is ready for Saturday’s trip to Stamford Bridge.
Is Maddison fit for Chelsea? De Zerbi is not sure
The exchange comes from the club’s transcript of the pre-match press conference. “I don’t know, because in the first three days Maddison didn’t work with us, I don’t know if he’s ready for tomorrow,” De Zerbi said. He then pointed to the cover he has if Maddison is not risked: “We can play also with Mathys Tel, we can play with Marmoush, we can play with Gallagher, or we have more solutions considering Pedro Porro can play.”
It is not a ruling-out, and the club’s team news page, which we covered earlier today, did not list Maddison among the unavailable players. What it does tell us is that his place is open, and that De Zerbi is leaning cautious. “I don’t want to take risks, because if you analyse this period of European football, you can see many injuries, not for Tottenham, for everyone,” he said. “So if I can, I don’t want to take risks to lose many players for many games.” Read plainly, that is a manager balancing the “Maddison fit for Chelsea” question against the risk of losing him for longer.
Kulusevski trained, but not with the group at first
Kulusevski’s update was shorter. “Kulusevski worked well, but in the first days he stayed individual,” De Zerbi said. That points to a player who has been managed through the week rather than one who has trained fully with the squad from Monday. De Zerbi did not say whether he will start, come off the bench or be left out. The same uncertainty hangs over whether Maddison is fit for Chelsea. Maddison started that game and scored, and Kulusevski came on three minutes from time after 17 months out. It was the 3-1 win that ended the wait for a first league win, which is why the question was put to him.
Udogie and Odobert still not in training
Destiny Udogie is not available, De Zerbi confirmed, and he has not worked with him since the game at Manchester United. Wilson Odobert has not yet started working with the squad, and De Zerbi said he has “no idea” when that will change. That sits alongside the earlier injury update on Robertson and Marmoush, and our look at whether Porro would be fit for this fixture.
So is Maddison fit for Chelsea? On Friday’s evidence, De Zerbi himself does not know. Nothing here is a confirmed line-up. De Zerbi did not name a team, and the picture on Maddison and Kulusevski may be clearer once the squad is announced on matchday.
Source: Tottenham Hotspur, Team news | Roberto’s latest on Kulusevski and Maddison, and the press conference transcript (23 October). Picture: James Maddison file photo, Jim Easton / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Inline picture: Maddison at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea Debs (@cfcunofficial) / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
