Jamie Carragher believes James Maddison will be instrumental in keeping Tottenham in the Premier League this season as the squad is decimated by injuries.
The 29-year-old forward is yet to make a competitive appearance this season after rupturing his ACL in a pre-season friendly, but is closing in on a return and was named to Spurs’ matchday squad against both Brighton and Wolves.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side sit 18th in the Premier League, two points adrift of safety with four matches to play, and continue to accumulate injuries, with Xavi Simons, Cristian Romero and Mohammed Kudus all out for the season.
Carragher believes Maddison, as one of the squad’s elder statesmen, has a big role to play in helping Spurs dodge the dreaded drop, saying he can produce ‘something special’.
He told Sky Sports: “Spurs have been really unfortunate with injuries. If they didn't have this injury record they wouldn't be in this position.
“I feel Maddison, who is returning from injury, may have to play a role in terms of keeping Tottenham up.
“He is the only one I can think of in terms of doing something special. He's got that quality I mention in terms of Jarrod Bowen and Morgan Gibbs-White.
“He is coming back from a big injury and we might only be talking about 15 to 20 minutes off the bench, but he is the only one when I look at that squad and think he could produce that little bit of magic Spurs need, especially in the away games at Aston Villa and Chelsea.”
Carragher continued, adding that matches against West Ham and Leeds would likely decide the relegation battle.
“I look at the games they've got at Aston Villa and at Chelsea. They are tough games no matter how you are playing or how good a team you've got.
“But I can't see them scoring a goal. If they do score I can only see it being one so they have to then keep a clean sheet to win the game, so I find it difficult to make a case for them in those two games.
“That then puts huge pressure on the home games against Leeds and Everton.”
