Tottenham Hotspur confirms playmaker James Maddison withdrawal from November’s internationals due to an ankle injury.
The former Leicester City player hurt his ankle tumbling on the grass with no one around him, and as a result, he was substituted out during the first half of Monday’s  4-1 loss to Chelsea.
After the game, Ange Postecoglou revealed nothing new regarding the severity of Maddison’s issue, just saying that the 26-year-old would require additional evaluation in the days ahead.
But Maddison has withdrawn from the national team camp, and Spurs confirmed on Friday morning that he will stay at Hotspur Way to receive treatment from the team’s medical experts in order to recover.
“We can confirm that James Maddison has been withdrawn from the England squad due to an ankle injury,” Tottenham said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The midfielder will not feature in the Three Lions’ UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia, and will remain at Hotspur Way for rehabilitation with the Club’s medical staff.”
The fact that Maddison withdrew from England raises even more questions about his availability for Saturday’s Premier League matchup against Wolverhampton Wanderers, where Postecoglou will have to manage a severely depleted squad.
Due to their dismissals against Chelsea, Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero have both been suspended for the Lilywhites. Udogie has been suspended for one-game following two yellow card offenses.
Romero will also miss matches against Aston Villa and Champions Manchester City during the international break as he starts a three-match domestic ban for receiving a straight red card.
Whether Southgate selects a substitute for Maddison, who was among the few players selected for November’s qualifiers in spite of previous injury concerns, is yet to be determined.
In the Champions League match between Newcastle United and Borussia Dortmund, Callum Wilson was called up again after leaving with a hamstring injury, while  Bukayo Saka was also playing despite limping off against Sevilla for Arsenal.
With a 3-1 victory over defending champions Italy last month, England guaranteed their spot at Euro 2024. They will also be officially declared group winners if they draw with Malta on Friday, three days before the Three Lions conclude their triumphant qualifying campaign in Skopje against North Macedonia.
