Son Heung-min’s final game for Tottenham Hotspur exposed how elite sport can be simultaneously beautiful and brutal.There were around 60,000 fans inside the Seoul World Cup Stadium for Spurs’ friendly against Newcastle United on August 3. They cheered every time Son touched the ball and booed when a goal he ‘scored’ was disallowed for offside. The South Korea forward was given a guard of honour by both teams when he was substituted in the second half and received a standing ovation from the crowd.A few moments later, the mood turned sombre. Shortly after coming off the bench, James Maddison went down in pain following a collision with Newcastle winger Anthony Elanga. Maddison suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in his right knee and had to be stretchered off the pitch. He was consoled in the dressing room by Rodrigo Bentancur, who suffered the same injury in February 2023.After the game, Son cried in the tunnel as he said goodbye to Tottenham’s squad. Journalists captured his tears and the flash from their cameras illuminated a hooded figure walking behind him on crutches. It turned out to be Maddison’s last appearance until his emotional comeback in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United.Maddison suffered the injury during Tottenham’s friendly with Newcastle in South Korea (Anthony Wallace/Getty Images)“It goes back to the Europa League semi-final when I got injured here because I did a partial ACL tear (in the same knee) against Bodo/Glimt,” Maddison, 29, told a group of reporters, including The Athletic, after his cameo against Leeds. “I was told by the (external) specialist it wouldn’t need surgery and rehab. Then obviously it wasn’t strong, it didn’t recover properly and I needed the full surgery, which is what happened in South Korea. So in my head, it’s been longer.“But that being said, the reception I got today was an amazing moment that will live with me forever. There have been some dark days in the last year, especially since the surgery. It has been a really tough year mentally but I’m at the end of the tunnel, so I can kind of look back on that with fondness because I’m as mentally strong as I can be after going through that.”There were 375 days between the first leg of last season’s Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt and the draw with Leeds. It has been a long road to recovery for Maddison, filled with ups and downs.Maddison missed the Europa League final in Bilbao last May, but he was still at the centre of Spurs’ celebrations.At full time, he ran onto the pitch in a suit and embraced Son. He sang Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond and performed a duet with comedian Michael McIntyre at the after-party.