Jamie Carragher believes that James Maddison could become a crucial factor if Tottenham Hotspur hopes to remain in the Premier League. The north‑London side have just secured a 1‑0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers – their first victory of the 2026 calendar year – but the triumph was shadowed by a fresh wave of injuries to key attacking players. Xavi Simons, who joined for a reported £52 million, has been ruled out for the remainder of the season, a blow that Carragher described as a major setback to Spurs' survival ambitions.
Simons' injury adds to a growing list that already includes summer acquisition Mohammed Kudus and captain Cristian Romero, both of whom have been declared unavailable for the rest of the campaign early in Ange De Zerbi’s tenure. Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison have also been missing; Maddison has been sidelined since August after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Although he was named in the most recent matchday squads, the former England midfielder has not been cleared to make a full‑scale return. Nevertheless, Carragher told Sky Sports on Monday Night Football that Maddison possesses the "magic" Spurs need to stave off a drop into the Championship.
"Spurs have been really unfortunate with injuries," Carragher said. "If they didn't have this injury record they wouldn't be in this position." He went on to note that three players occupying similar attacking roles – Kulusevski, Maddison and now Simons – have all suffered ACL problems, underscoring the severity of the club’s fitness crisis. Despite the grim injury list, Carragher expressed optimism that Maddison could still make a decisive impact.
"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," the former Liverpool and Liverpool defender said. "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 highlighted Maddison's innate desire to take the ball forward regardless of the circumstances.
"When I think of the Spurs players and that little bit of fear of going down, and it may have gone a little after the win at Wolves, but Maddison would continue to take the ball. He'd still want to take it no matter what the situation. For Spurs to stay up, I feel he has a role to play," he added.
Everton midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury‑Hall echoed the sentiment on the same programme, calling Maddison "probably the most creative player in the Spurs squad." He suggested that the English playmaker could be the kind of impact sub who, even with only 15‑20 minutes left, might create a clear‑cut chance or even score a decisive goal. "Spurs haven't really got a hat at the moment," Dewsbury‑Hall warned, referring to the lack of a reliable goal‑scoring outlet.
The relegation battle remains tight. After the weekend’s fixtures, Tottenham, West Ham United and Nottingham Forest all sit precariously close to the drop zone, each desperate to avoid joining Burnley and Wolves in the second tier next season. Spurs have four matches left: home games against Leeds United and Everton, and away trips to Aston Villa and Chelsea. Carragher cautioned that, despite the recent win, Tottenham could still struggle due to a comparative shortage of goals when measured against Forest and West Ham, both of which boast attacking talents such as Bowen and Gibbs‑White.
"It's going to be really tough for Spurs," he said. "The fans will now be thinking they have won a game of football – they haven't won a game of football all year and it's hard to comprehend that. However, their rivals West Ham and Nottingham Forest both won also.
If you add that to the injuries they got at the weekend, even though they have won a game, they are actually in a worse position than last week because they've got the easiest game on paper out of the way." Former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood also weighed in, attributing the club’s woes largely to injury misfortune. "Injuries have derailed Tottenham all season, and it can't be bad luck. They need to review and have a good look at what's happening to their players because we can all get injured from contact, but a lot of these injuries are not contact.
They are twists and soft‑tissue injuries. And ultimately, it looks like they might have to pay the price for it, the ultimate price, which is relegation," Sherwood warned.
He singled out the prolonged absences of Kulusevski and Maddison, noting that both have been sidelined for an unusually long period. "Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, it's been a hell of a long time since they've been injured. So they're going to need a good look at that in the summer," Sherwood added, implying that the club may need to overhaul its medical and conditioning approaches.
Sherwood also compared Tottenham’s attacking options with those of their rivals. "West Ham and Nottingham Forest have difficult fixtures on paper, there's no doubt about that, but when you look at the players they both have and with both playing with a front four, Morgan Gibbs‑White or Jarrod Bowen, Spurs don't have a player in the attack that can even come close to either of those players. That is what worries me for Spurs." Looking ahead to the remaining fixtures, Sherwood expressed doubt about Spurs’ ability to find the net.
"After watching the Wolves game and also the injuries in attack, who is going to score a goal for Spurs? Who is going to create something?
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." In summary, both Carragher and Sherwood agree that Tottenham’s survival hinges on finding a spark in the final stretch. While the club’s injury list appears daunting, the return of James Maddison – even in a limited cameo role – could provide the creative spark and decisive moment needed to secure vital points. Whether that "magic" materialises in the next fifteen minutes or in a full‑time performance remains to be seen, but the consensus among pundits is clear: Tottenham must extract maximum output from every available player if they hope to stay in the Premier League.