Thomas Frank confirmed that James Maddison is part-training with the Tottenham squad as he steps up his recovery from injury.

The midfielder missed the final weeks of last season, including the Europa League final, with a serious knee injury.

Maddison did not require surgery but the problem has kept him out of the start of pre-season. Tottenham face Reading on Saturday afternoon and Luton next weekend before travelling to Hong Kong and then South Korea.

Frank did not confirm when he expects Maddison to be available, but suggested he was further ahead in his recovery than Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin.

Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella and underwent surgery in May, while Dragusin has been out with an ACL injury since February.

“Maddison is the closest one,” Frank said. “He is part training with the team, so that’s very positive. Obviously a key player.