James Maddison boosts Tottenham with preseason appearance against Hoffenheim

James Maddison provided Tottenham with a boost after played his first minutes of preseason in a 2-2 draw with Hoffenheim at the club's Hotspur Way training ground.

In the second of two fixtures with the Bundesliga club after a 3-0 win in front of 54,345 fans at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, goals by Ben Davies and talented young attacker Luca Williams-Barnett ensured Roberto De Zerbi's men concluded their friendly schedule unbeaten.

This was Maddison's first action of preseason and he lasted 45 minutes in a positive for De Zerbi after an injury-hit 18 months with two serious knee injuries, but the absences of Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke before Saturday's Premier League opener at Brentford remains a concern.

A completely different line-up to Saturday's team was selected by De Zerbi and Maddison was deployed as a false nine in light of Tottenham's limited attacking options given the ongoing pursuits of Savinho and Cody Gakpo.

Summer signing Mateus Fernandes played 90 minutes along with Kevin Danso and Rodrigo Bentancur while academy duo Tye Hall and Ademola Ajayi earned more starts.

Spurs trailed after 16 minutes when Adam Hlozek sent Brandon Austin the wrong way from the penalty spot after Maddison had been penalised for a foul, but the England playmaker was involved four minutes later with Fernandes as Ben Davies equalised from a corner.

Highly-rated 17-year-old Williams-Barnett made it 2-1 in first-half stoppage-time with a smart finish to further enhance his reputation, but Hoffenheim earned a draw after Valentin Gendrey scored in the 55th minute.

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