Roberto De Zerbi has dropped his strongest hint yet that James Maddison will be fit enough to play in Tottenham's relegation battle, but believes he has already brought calm to the squad.
Maddison has been an unused substitute in 18th-placed Spurs' last two fixtures and not warmed-up mid-match after a lengthy absence following a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
However, ahead of Sunday's trip to Aston Villa, De Zerbi again talked up the influence of Maddison in the dressing room after he was an animated member of the bench during last Saturday's 1-0 victory at Wolves, which was a first Premier League win in 16 matches.
Asked what Maddison brings in the dressing room, De Zerbi said: "Experience, personality, calm because any way, if you have much experience, you are calmer.
"You can consider the timing when you have to speak, when you have to say something or not.
"And I want him to stay inside even if he doesn't play, because when he will be ready to play, I want him 100% inside of the plan of the team."
Maddison's last competitive experience was this time last year when he starred in a 3-1 Europa League victory over Bodo/Glimt but a semifinal goal was followed by a medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury.
After a summer-long lay-off, Maddison returned and played against Newcastle in Seoul on Aug. 3 until ACL disaster struck.
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Sunday will mark exactly nine months since his pre-season agony and with the margins extremely tight given Spurs are in the relegation zone with four games left, De Zerbi knows the difference the playmaker could make.
He added: "I don't know [if he plays at Villa], I would like to play with him because he's a special player. He's a different player.
"We have to consider the physical condition, a lot of things, but I think he can be important in the next three games."
If Maddison does feature at Villa Park, it will almost certainly be off the bench which leaves De Zerbi with two major calls to make over who will replace injured duo Xavi Simons and Dominic Solanke.
"One way is we are unlucky, we are at the bottom of the table," De Zerbi pointed out.
"The other perspective is, yes [unlucky], but we play with Pedro Porro, with [Destiny] Udogie, with [Roberto] Bentancur, with [Yves] Bissouma, with Palhinha, with [Conor] Gallagher, with Richarlison, with [Randal] Kolo Muani.