James Maddison stretchered off in Tottenham's pre-season friendly as team-mates look on in horror

Tottenham Hotspur players and fans were left in shock as James Maddison suffered a freak injury that forced him to leave the pitch on a stretcher.

In less than two weeks, Tottenham Hotspur get their 2025/26 Premier League season underway as they welcome the newly-promoted Burnley to London on August 16.

Ahead of that, the Lilywhites have been competing in several club friendlies with fellow English sides including a North London derby against Arsenal.

In their penultimate friendly match before their Super Cup final against Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain, Spurs drew 1-1 with Newcastle United in the Seoul World Cup Stadium.

However, the match ended in disaster as star player Maddison suffered a freak injury that could mark the end of his season before it even started.

As he returns form a lengthy spell on the sidelines, Maddison has had reduced minutes in Spurs' pre-season to ensure he is fully fit ahead of the new season,

With that in mind, the Englishman was named on the bench for the friendly against Newcastle, but everything went wrong as he suffered what appeared to be an innocuous-looking injury just minuted after coming on.

In the 75th minute, Maddison came on to the pitch to replace teammate Archie Gray and only minutes later, he was forced to stop as he suffered an injury after trying to win the ball.

The 28-year-old appeared to immediately know something was wrong, as he started to hop on one foot before falling to the ground with his hands hands on his head while he called for the team physio.

As Maddison lay on the pitch writhing in pain, the cameras cut to Spurs captain Son, who confirmed pre-match that he would leave the club this summer, who sat on the bench with his hands over his mouth, devastated by the events on pitch.

Eventually, a stretcher was called for Maddison, who was loaded onto it before leaving the pitch still with his hands over his face.

HEARTBREAK for James Maddison, who is forced off the pitch on a stretcher after just returning from injury for Spurs 🤕

Get well soon James ❤️ pic.twitter.com/r1JcVcKtSn

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) August 3, 2025

Speaking post-match, new Spurs boss Thomas Frank confirmed that Maddison's injury was to the same knee that kept him out of the latter part of last season.

“James Maddison’s injury looks bad. It was a brutal moment”, said Frank.