Jamie Carragher feels James Maddison could play a role if Tottenham avoid relegation and remain in the Premier League.
Spurs’ 1-0 win over Wolves, their first win of 2026, saw them suffer further injuries to their attacking team, with Xavi Simmons ruled out for the rest of the season and the World Cup, dealing a major blow to the north London club’s hopes of survival.
The absence of £52m Simmons is just the latest injury for Spurs, who are two points clear with four games remaining after summer signing Mohamed Kudus and captain Cristian Romero announced they would miss the rest of the season in De Zerbi’s first month as manager. Also absent are Dejan Kulusevski and Madison, who has been sidelined since August of last year with a torn ACL.
Xavi Simmons receives treatment before being carried away on a stretcher
He was included in the squad for the past two games but was not deemed fit to make a long-awaited return, but speaking on Monday Night Football, Carragher believes Maddison “has the ability to create the magic that Spurs need to avoid dropping out of the Championship”.
“Spurs have been really unlucky with injuries,” Carragher told Sky Sports. “If they didn’t have this injury record, they wouldn’t be in this position.
“But three players in the same position, Kulusevski, Maddison and now Simmons, have suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries.
“But now I feel that Maddison, who is returning from injury, has to play a role in keeping Tottenham in form.
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Tim Sherwood feels Spurs need to review why so many players are injured as they could lose their place in the Premier League
He added: “He’s the only one I can think of in terms of doing something special. He has the qualities I mentioned with Jarrod Bowen and Morgan Gibbs-White.”
“He’s coming back from a major injury and he’s probably only been on the bench for 15 or 20 minutes, but when you look at this team and think he can create that bit of magic that Spurs need, especially in the away games at Aston Villa and Chelsea, he’s the only player.
“If you think about the Spurs players, any fear of going down may have gone away a little bit with the win at Wolves, but Maddison will continue to get the ball. He’s going to want to get the ball no matter what the situation is.”
“I think he has a role to play if Spurs are to survive.”
“Who will score for Spurs?”
It was in the relegation battle after the weekend, when Tottenham and West Ham matched Nottingham Forest’s victory last Friday night, with all three relegation-threatened teams desperate to avoid joining Burnley and Wolves in next season’s Championship.
Spurs have four games left, two at home against Leeds and Everton, and two away to Aston Villa and Chelsea, but Carragher believes Spurs could struggle despite their win at Wolves due to their lack of goals against Forest and West Ham, who have quality players such as Gibbs-White and Bowen.
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Tim Sherwood admits he is ‘down’ despite Spurs’ win over Wolves as they aim to avoid relegation
“It’s going to be a really tough situation for Spurs,” Carragher said.
“The fans would think they’ve won a football match now. They haven’t won a football match all year and it’s hard to fathom that. But their rivals West Ham and Nottingham Forest have both won too.”
“On top of the injuries they picked up at the weekend, even if they win the game, they are actually in a worse situation than last week because they finished the easiest game on paper.
“West Ham and Nottingham Forest are difficult games on paper, there’s no doubt about that, but when you look at the players they have, they’re both playing in a front four with either Morgan Gibbs-White or Jarrod Bowen, so Spurs don’t have players who can get close to either of those players in attack.
“That’s what I’m worried about for the Spurs.”
He added: “After watching Wolves and seeing the injuries in attack, who’s going to score for Spurs? Who’s going to produce something?”
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Free to watch: Premier League highlights of Wolves vs. Tottenham Hotspur
“When you watch games like Aston Villa and Chelsea, no matter how you play or how good of a team you have, it’s a tough game.
“But I don’t see them scoring. If they score, I think it’s only one point, so they have to keep a clean sheet to win the game. So I think it’s hard to make the case for them in these two games.”
“That would put a lot of pressure on the home games against Leeds and Everton.”
