After 513 days of surgeries, doubt, and rehabilitation, Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski is finally nearing a return to the pitch.
The message arrived on social media on September 1. a date that will resonate with anyone who has watched Dejan Kulusevski fight for his career in the shadows. His wife. Eldina. penned a letter in Swedish that finally broke the silence surrounding his absence: ‘They said you might never play again. They obviously don’t know who you are.’.
That post came 477 days after the innocuous collision against Crystal Palace that ended Kulusevski’s 2024-25 season. As of today, the clock has reached 513 days. For a player who was once the creative heartbeat of Ange Postecoglou’s side—a man who dismantled Manchester City in a 4-0 win just weeks before his injury—this has been a Herculean journey through pain. multiple surgeries. and the kind of isolation that tests a professional’s soul.
While Tottenham’s internal communications remained guarded, the reality of the injury was devastating. What was initially dismissed by management as a simple ‘knock’ revealed itself to be a complex, catastrophic knee issue. Sweden’s team doctor. Jonas Werner. later shed light on the struggle. noting that cartilage injuries in high-stress joints are notoriously difficult to treat. The problem. likely involving the cartilage that allows the patella to glide across the thigh bone. turned a routine rehabilitation into a two-year nightmare. Complications required a course of injections in January and a ‘small intervention’ to clean out the joint in March. costing him a spot at the World Cup and his place in a Spurs squad that has churned through four managers and three captains during his absence.
It is the sheer volatility of his recovery that makes his current progress so jarring. He spent months on crutches. wearing a heavy-duty brace. and was even photographed attending the 2025 Europa League final in that state. For a long time, the path forward was non-existent. He missed the club’s summer tour of New Zealand and Australia. and when he finally attempted to ramp up his training last December. the knee simply refused to hold. forcing him to report pain that sent him back to square one.
Yet, the return is no longer a question of if, but when. Kulusevski has spent the current three-week international break on a full first-team schedule. At the end of the second week. he moved beyond solo drills. participating in an 11-v-11 internal game against the club’s Under-18 and Under-21 sides. He is closing in on a spot in the matchday squad. a prospect that brings hope to a Tottenham team currently sitting rock bottom in the Premier League.
His resilience has deep roots. Long before he was a household name. a teenage Kulusevski spent a year sidelined in Italy due to a registration hitch. living in a tiny room and writing down football formations to stave off the boredom. His father. Stefan. worked long. overnight shifts as a shuttle bus driver at Arlanda Airport; his mother. Katica. urged him to return home to Sweden. He refused, possessing an internal drive that his family now credits for his survival in the sport. That same grit, honed through friendships with figures like Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo, carried him through the last 17 months.
Spurs may soon adopt the strategy used by Roberto De Zerbi with James Maddison last season: bringing a recovering star back into the fold not necessarily to play ninety minutes. but to lift the spirits of a dressing room and a fanbase desperate for a catalyst. Whether he plays immediately or continues his methodical buildup, Kulusevski has already achieved the hardest part. As Eldina wrote to their two daughters: ‘He carried on when no one was watching. when no one was applauding. and when no one could promise him it would be worth it.’.
Dejan Kulusevski Tottenham Premier League injury update Ange Postecoglou football MISRYOUM