James Maddison's repeated injuries and inability to complete a full 90 minutes in the Premier League are a "concern" for Tottenham Hotspur, Gus Poyet has exclusively told Sports Mole.

The 29-year-old was dropped from Tottenham's starting lineup to face Crystal Palace in Saturday's 5.30pm kickoff, having tweaked a groin muscle against Chelsea in last weekend's 2-0 win.

Maddison was declared fit by De Zerbi in his pre-game press conference, but the Italian decided to take no chances with the Englishman, instead bringing Dominic Solanke back into the XI.

Maddison's most recent injury was nowhere near as bad as first feared, though, as concerns over another knee issue were sparked when the midfielder sat down on the turf at Stamford Bridge.

However, following yet another all-too familiar setback for Maddison, ex-Spurs midfielder Poyet has admitted that the 29-year-old's repeated failure to play a full match is worrying.

Gus Poyet admits "concern" over James Maddison Tottenham injuries

"He has had a good career so far, but yes these injuries are a concern, because he can’t last the 90 minutes," Poyet said in an exclusive interview with Sports Mole.

"So he has to recover now and look to get back playing again to ensure he can last 90 minutes at the top level. He is a good creative player, so useful and we saw what he can do as he showed against Coventry."

De Zerbi was asked about Maddison's absence from the first XI by Sky Sports News ahead of kickoff vs. Palace, to which he replied: "Not just for the physical condition. To be clear James is very important for us when he feels good, when he plays."

Maddison has been limited to just two Premier League starts so far this season, featuring from the off against Coventry City and opening the scoring with a stunning curler from outside the box in that 3-1 win.

The ex-Leicester City man held his place in the XI for the trip to Chelsea last weekend and completed 86% of his passes while also drawing two fouls before his premature withdrawal.

When did James Maddison last play 90 minutes for Tottenham?

Prior to Spurs' clash with Crystal Palace, Maddison averaged just 30 minutes per match in all competitions this season, having played for 210 minutes across seven games in the Premier League and EFL Cup.

Maddison made five successive substitute appearances against Brentford, Everton, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Manchester United - with a shoulder injury sandwiched in between - before lasting 69 minutes of the win over Coventry and 51 minutes against Chelsea.

The midfielder was also restricted to just 34 minutes in three substitute appearances in the 2025-26 Premier League, having spent the majority of the campaign recovering from a serious ACL injury.

Furthermore, Maddison only lasted 90 minutes three times in the 2024-25 season; vs. Rangers in the Europa League in December 2024, and against Tamworth in the FA Cup and Everton in the Premier League on January 12 and 19 respectively - almost two full years ago.

While an indispensable creative asset to Spurs when fully fit, Maddison only playing a full game three times since the start of the 2024-25 season is both shocking and concerning, both for himself and De Zerbi.