James Maddison Returns to Tottenham in Friendly Against Hoffenheim

James Maddison finally pulled a Tottenham shirt back over his head on Sunday – and did it where almost nobody could see him.

After a summer spent on the sidelines and lingering anxiety over an issue linked to the anterior cruciate ligament injury that wrecked his last campaign, the playmaker was thrown straight into the starting XI for a behind-closed-doors friendly against Hoffenheim at Hotspur Way. With just a week until Roberto De Zerbi’s first Premier League game in charge at Brentford, it felt like a significant step.

Maddison back, but still rusty

This was Maddison’s first start in nearly a year. Spurs named an entirely different XI from the one that had swept aside the same Bundesliga side 3-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, when Mikey Moore scored twice and Richarlison also found the net in front of home supporters.

Sunday was quieter, more controlled, more revealing.

Maddison got 45 minutes in Enfield and looked exactly like what he is: a gifted player still searching for rhythm. Early on, he lost the ball inside his own box, then compounded the error by fouling Leon Avdullahu. Adam Hlozek converted the penalty, and Spurs were behind.

There were neat touches, a few promising combinations, but no disguising the rust. At the interval he was replaced by youngster Reiss Elliot-Parris, his first shift back in the side safely banked.

Fernandes shows his weight in midfield

If Maddison’s return was the headline, Mateus Fernandes quietly offered the reassurance Tottenham badly needed.

The £85million summer signing from West Ham completed the full 90 minutes, a welcome sight after a calf problem cut into his pre-season on the club’s tour of New Zealand and Australia. He looked ready.

Fernandes dictated spells of play and delivered the moment that dragged Spurs level. From a short corner routine, the Portuguese midfielder whipped in a precise cross that begged to be finished. Ben Davies obliged, nodding home from close range on 20 minutes.

The goal settled Tottenham, who began to move the ball with more conviction. The pressure told again just before half-time.

Pape Matar Sarr, back in action himself, surged through midfield with a driving run that split Hoffenheim open. The ball broke to highly rated winger Luca Williams-Barnett, who took a touch and buried his finish past Luca Philipp. A sharp, composed strike. Spurs turned the game on its head before the whistle.

Sarr wasn’t the only returning midfielder. Rodrigo Bentancur also featured, adding to a sense that De Zerbi’s engine room is finally starting to resemble something close to full strength.

Hoffenheim hit back as Spurs chase a winner

The second half shifted the tone again.

Valentin Gendrey levelled it up for Hoffenheim, beating Brandon Austin with a volley that punished loose defending. From there, the game opened up. Kevin Danso rattled the crossbar, a reminder that the visitors were not just sparring partners.

At the other end, teenage winger Miracle Adewole almost stole it late on, going close as Spurs pushed for a winner that never came. The final whistle left the scoreline locked, but the result was always secondary. Minutes, movement, and medical bulletins mattered more.

Big names missing as Brentford looms

For all the positives, the absentee list casts a long shadow over the week ahead.

Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie and Mohammed Kudus did not feature at all during pre-season. For a side about to launch into a new Premier League campaign under a new manager, that is not a minor detail. It is a problem.

The same goes for Dejan Kulusevski. The winger is back in training after a knee injury that has kept him out since May 2025, but he has yet to play a minute in these warm-up games. Dominic Solanke was missing again on Sunday, as was goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who is expected to leave the club before the transfer window closes on September 1.

Wilson Odobert and Xavi Simons remain long-term absentees. Pedro Porro, meanwhile, did not play at all in pre-season after being granted extra time off following Spain’s World Cup triumph, although he returned to the club earlier this week.

So Tottenham leave their final tune-up match with two conflicting truths. Maddison is back on the pitch, Fernandes looks ready, and key midfielders are re-emerging at just the right time. Yet an entire defensive core and several attacking pillars are either undercooked or unavailable.

Seven days from Brentford, De Zerbi knows exactly what he has. The question is whether it will be enough when the real thing starts.