Dejan Kulusevski hasn’t featured for Tottenham Hotspur this season after injuring his knee towards the back end of the 2024-25 campaign.
The Swede’s injury was initially described as a knock, but after further scans, it was confirmed that he had injured his right patellar tendon, due to which he underwent surgery.
Kulusevski was initially earmarked to return to action by Tottenham in late March and was set to feature for Sweden in their 2026 FIFA World Cup playoff against Ukraine.
However, that game concluded last night and he didn’t feature, although he was with his teammates in the training camp.
And now, the former Juventus man has provided another update on when he will return to action for Tottenham and Sweden.
Kulusevski targeting World Cup return
A video emerged of the elegant midfielder limping while interacting with Graham Potter and the rest of his national teammates in the Sweden camp, which caused a lot of concern among the Tottenham faithful.
However, Kulusevski allayed fears of an injury setback, confirming that he underwent another small procedure to step up his recovery.
Sweden secured a 3-1 win against Ukraine last night courtesy of a hat-trick from Viktor Gyokeres, with Lucas Bergvall making his injury return for his national team as a late substitute in the game.
They will play Poland next week for a place in the World Cup, and Kulusevski is confident his team will win so that he can return to action at the showpiece tournament in the summer.
“I understand that people were worried,” said Kulusevski in an interview with Aftonbladet before Sweden’s win against Ukraine.
“But it was really for the wrong reason. It was really positive that I did this little procedure and that we were able to find the problem.
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“Now everything should be solved. Now it’s just a matter of slowly and surely coming back. I can see the light. It feels better now.
“I really have a positive feeling about these two important matches and the World Cup in two or three months. This is how the book and the chapter will end. I am convinced of that.”
Kulusevski seems to be putting all his eggs in the World Cup basket for Sweden, which is understandable as every young footballer dreams of representing their country at major tournaments.
What does it mean for Tottenham?
To be quite frank, the 25-year-old is giving himself enough time to play himself into the fray for Sweden. Having not featured for nearly a year and the World Cup coming up, it’s hard to fault his thought process.
Earlier, we suggested on Read Tottenham that Kulusevski could return to Premier League action towards the back end of the current season.
However, he hasn’t even returned to full team training yet, so his involvement for Tottenham this season remains in major doubt.
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Besides, the Lilywhites have other key players back from injury in Lucas Bergvall and Destiny Udogie, while Mohammed Kudus is also close to returning to action. Between the three of them, they should still have enough options to negotiate the relegation dog-fight, which should ease the pressure on the Swede.
Whether or not he features for the club this season, Kulusevski is a class act and should prioritise his long-term health as he is enduring the toughest spell of his career. More power to you, Deki!
