Tottenham's Maddison available for Palace match, says De Zerbi

Oct 30 - Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison is available to face Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday despite an injury scare, boss Roberto De Zerbi said on Friday.

• The England international was substituted early in the second half of Spurs' 2-0 win at Chelsea, raising concerns over his fitness after a series of injury setbacks

• Maddison missed most of last season with an ACL injury and also spent time out in this campaign with a shoulder injury suffered in his side's opening-weekend defeat at Brentford.

• He marked his return to the starting lineup by opening the scoring against Coventry City earlier this month

• "This week he didn't work like the other players, but for tomorrow he is available and he is a special player for us," De Zerbi told a press conference.

• "For Maddison or the players who are coming from a long injury, they have to work more than the other players, but he has already four or five weeks ... So, I think it's not a problem if he loses two days (training), but then we have to analyse if we take the risk or not," De Zerbi added.

• Full back Destiny Udogie is also set to return after the Italian missed the last two games with a knee injury REUTERS