Dejan Kulusevski
Guimaraes, Portugal – 03 21 2024: Dejan Kulusevski during friendly game between national teams of Portugal and Sweden, Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques, Guimaraes, Portugal. (Maciej Rogowski)
Tottenham Hotspur star Dejan Kulusevski hasn’t made an appearance for the Premier League side this season due to a prolonged injury.
He suffered a knee injury in May 2025, forcing him to miss Spurs’ Europa League final win over Manchester United.
Due to the injury, the Tottenham player will miss Sweden’s World Cup qualifier against Ukraine later this month. Sweden manager Graham Potter has left him out of the squad for the upcoming international break, having at one thought he’d be available much earlier.
The 25-year-old last made an appearance for the north London club in their 2-0 league defeat to Crystal Palace on May 11th of last year. He picked up an injury and Mikey Moore replaced him in the 19th minute.
Timeline of Tottenham star’s recovery process
Three days after sustaining an injury, Spurs confirmed he successful underwent surgery. Later that day, Ange Postecoglou, who was then in charge at the club, said he will be out for “at least a few months”.
In August, reports stated he won’t return until the end of that year. On September 9th, Kulusevski said his “rehab is going well” and predicted return to the pitch in the “very, very near future”.
On October 1st, Jon Dahl Tomasson, who was then the national team manager, explained the Spurs attacker is in a “different phase of his rehabilitation.” Later that month, Sweden sacked him and appointed Potter as his successor.
On November 20th, the former Chelsea manager hinted Kulusevski could return “around New Year”.
A month later, Potter was convinced his player return for March’s international break, but the optimism disappeared in February. The coach admitted “it will be tough to come back in March.”
Earlier today, Potter announced his squad for the upcoming international break. He then spoke to the media and Fotbollskanalen have relayed his comments.
As well as the 25-year-old, Liverpool striker Alexander Isak is also a big miss for Sweden.
On the duo’s absence, he said: “Alexander Isak has made great progress and is on the field. But the games are coming too soon. Dejan is making progress but not as quickly as we would have liked.”
What happened since Kulusevski played for Spurs
Dejan Kulusevski
Several developments took place, both at the English club and the national team, since Dejan Kulusevski last made an appearance.
On May 21st, 2025, Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the Europa League and secured a place in the Champions League. On June 6th, Tottenham parted ways with Ange Postecoglou, the manager who helped them win that trophy.
A few days later, Thomas Frank’s appointment was confirmed. In September of that year, Daniel Levy stepped down as the club’s chairman. A month later, Fabio Paratici returned, only to leave them for Fiorentina in February.
Frank was shown the exit door on 11th February and Spurs then appointed Igor Tudor until the end of this season.
Meanwhile, Sweden struggled in the World Cup qualifiers and sacked [first time in their history] Tomasson. The national team replaced him with Potter.
To sum it up, Kulusevski is yet to play under Tudor and Potter at Tottenham and Sweden respectively.
🇺🇾 Rodrigo Bentancur | Detailed information on Tottenham return
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‼️ Whisper it… but it may be positive Spurs news 👇https://t.co/BxZb214aw8 #thfc #coys
— Sport Witness (@Sport_Witness) March 13, 2026