The Tottenham midfielder has been missing from action for more than a year but gave an update ahead of the return he and everyone is hoping for
Dejan Kulusevski released a video of himself training with a football to give hope that he will be back in action for Tottenham in the near future.
Kulusevski has not played a game for club or country since May 11, 2025 when he suffered a complicated patella injury in his right knee during Spurs ‘ Premier League game against Crystal Palace, following a tackle by England international Marc Guehi. More than a year has passed since that moment and the problems for the talented Swede with his knee have been well documented since, with setbacks and a clean-up procedure all culminating in his World Cup dream being dashed as he tried to get back before the end of last season.
The 26-year-old former Juventus man has contributed 55 goal involvements in 146 games for Tottenham and has been a big player for the north London club since his arrival so his absence was felt during a difficult season in N17. Sweden also exited the World Cup in the round of 32 without their talisman at the top end of the pitch.
Former Sweden international Simon Thern is a pundit in his country and writes a column for the media outlet fotballskanalen. When talking about the future of the national team he expressed doubts over Kulusevski’s future in the game.
“Kulusevski. I had played Dejan centrally. Incredible at covering and keeping the ball, dangerous going forward. It feels like a perfect midfield trio! If Kulusevski makes it back to football… I’ve started to doubt it after seeing pictures of how he moves,” he wrote on Thursday.
It may just have been a coincidence but within an hour of that article appearing online, Kulusevski posted a video on his Instagram story of him training individually on a football pitch with a ball and a personal coach.
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The Spurs man could be seen passing the ball to his trainer, controlling the different types of passes back at various heights and then jogging on to strike the ball into two small goals. It was not high intensity work but the Swede appeared to be moving freely and hitting the ball accurately.
He chose the song ‘I Can’t Wait’ to play over the top of it, by Kanye West featuring Lauryn Hill, which samples The Supremes’ and later Phil Collins’ song ‘You Can’t Hurry Love’ with many of the lyrics applicable to Kulusevski’s difficult journey in the past year. The Swede has previously uploaded clips of him playing basketball with his friends this summer and putting plenty of weight on that right knee.
Just before the World Cup Sweden’s national team doctor Jonas Werner had gone into detail about Kulusevski’s knee and the problems with it.
“It’s been a long story with Dejan. He’s done everything he can to get ready, but when it came to deciding [if he would make the squad] he wasn’t,” he said. “The reason is that he hasn’t played football in a year, but even the medical assessments made this spring have pointed in the direction that he wouldn’t be ready.”
He added: “Cartilage injuries, like in Dejan’s case, are troublesome. They are difficult to treat. Plus, he has it in a place that gets a lot of stress. The injury simply hasn’t healed enough to handle that stress.”
When asked if the Spurs man will be able to come back and play football again, the doctor said: “I have high hopes for that and I really hope so.”
Tottenham supporters and head coach Roberto De Zerbi will be hoping that the attacker will finally be able to continue his comeback in the weeks ahead back at Hotspur Way as his team-mates begin returning for pre-season.
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