Roberto De Zerbi has shared a fitness update on James Maddison ahead of Tottenham’s crucial clash against Coventry City this evening.There is a lot of excitement among Spurs fans about the return of Dejan Kulusevski, who is set to mark his return to Tottenham’s matchday squad this evening after 500 days out of action. Monday 19th October Premier League TottenhamTottenham20:00CoventryCoventryAstonishingly, Maddison’s last start in a competitive fixture for Spurs came even before Kulusevski’s, with the England international having not been in a Tottenham eleven since April of 2025.The former Leicester City star has suffered a few minor setbacks over recent weeks on his road to full fitness, and Spurs fans will be hoping that the nine-day break since the clash at Old Trafford has given him the time he needs to reach 100 per cent fitness.Credit: @thefrederikkejensen / InstagramRoberto De Zerbi refuses to confirm if James Maddison will be in Tottenham’s starting elevenGiven the Lilywhites’ struggles to score goals and issues in the final third, the supporters are desperate to see Maddison back in the team.De Zerbi has now confirmed that the 29-year-old is fit enough to start, but he refused to confirm if the experienced Tottenham man will be in his starting eleven this evening.When asked if Maddison could feature from the start, the Spurs head coach told Football.London: “Maybe yes [he can start] You need to play many games to reach the best physical condition but there are players able to be important even if they play 10-15-20 minutes and James is one player like this. Right now he is ready to start the game but I don’t know if we will start with him. I’m waiting for that moment.”De Zerbi shares interesting detail about Spurs’ Marbella tripSpeaking on Sunday, De Zerbi admitted that the trip to Marbella was necessary to make the Tottenham squad a stronger group, given the wholesale changes to the squad in the summer.The Italian has now revealed more details about what went on in Spain, revealing that the players were allowed to socialise among themselves with no rules, except one: to stay away from their phones.When asked about the trip, De Zerbi said: “We worked on the pitch, we stayed together – we removed phones from breakfast, lunch and dinner to stay together because now it is like (fiddles with imaginary phone) all the time.“We had two or three important meetings speaking about football – our situation and how everyone has to take responsibility – and nothing more. There were some dinners just for the players, some dinners just for the staff.On whether the players were allowed to go out, he added: “Yes, with freedom. With no military rules. I love freedom.”READ MORE: Tottenham’s extra revenue from non-football events is just ‘a rounding error’ – Finance expertThe post Roberto De Zerbi reveals if James Maddison could start for Tottenham vs Coventry City appeared first on Spurs Web.