Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison has revealed he has been left pretty disappointed over the last week.
The England international is just one of several Spurs players who have been away from Hotspur Way on international duty.
Ange Postecoglou’s men will now be reporting back to the north London training facilities ahead of their game on the weekend against Luton Town.
Returning to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will see Spurs look to put things right after their recent defeat to Fulham last time out.
And it seems James Maddison may be taking to the pitch with a point to prove.
What James Maddison has been frustrated by
The 27-year-old was one of numerous players who Postecoglou saw leave the squad to undertake his duty with the national side.
But it was not exactly a worthwhile absence from Spurs for Maddison as he was only able to rack up 26 minutes of action under Gareth Southgate.
READ MORE: Get to know Tottenham Hotspur’s dart-throwing, ink-plastered superstar James Maddison
However, in his short appearance on Tuesday night against Belgium, the Spurs playmaker was able to provide the assist for Jude Bellingham’s last-gasp equaliser.
An assist which saw a number of England players take to social media to hail Maddison.
Having played extremely limited game time ahead of this summer’s Euros, the Spurs midfielder has made it clear in a recent interview he wasn’t best pleased with his time away with England.
He said: “I know the quality that I have — and that can help this team, most definitely. You’ve got to show it and you’ve also got to have the opportunity to show it. I didn’t feature in the first game, which was disappointing because I wanted to play in a big game at Wembley.
“Against Belgium, I came on and made an impact. I’m showing him what I’m capable of and I just want to show more of that.
“I’m very, very, very grumpy but once you accept the fact you’re on the bench. I’m experienced now, I’m 27. On the odd occasion when I was younger, I’d be sulking, I’d be moody, probably not go about it the right way as a teenage James Maddison.”
Is James Maddison fully fit after his injury issue?
The game against Fulham saw a number of Spurs players criticised following the game, Maddison did not escape the wrath.
However, in the wake of the defeat, it was suggested that the 27-year-old was playing at Craven Cottage on the back of a training ground issue.
Journalist Alasdair Gold claimed Maddison played despite having that issue from earlier in the week, but he was withdrawn well before the whistle was blown.
He said: “He had a little niggle injury-wise in training during the week. I don’t think it helped him when it came to the game perhaps. But he could’ve done more.”
It will be interesting to see whether Southgate’s decision not to feature Maddison heavily was a result of that issue Gold had alluded to.
The England manager may well have been erring on the side of caution, but the response from the midfielder would suggest this is not the case.
If Maddison was struggling still through injury, it is unlikely he would have came out with such a strong response to the lack of game time.
Only time will tell with Postecoglou not having too much time to make his team selection for the game on the weekend.