Kulusevski’s Determination Amid Injury Struggles

Dejan Kulusevski’s year has been spent in the shadows. Not on the touchline, not on the bench – in the treatment room.

Out since May 2025 with a stubborn patella injury, the Tottenham winger has been locked in a race against both the clock and his own body, desperate to make Graham Potter’s Sweden squad for this summer’s World Cup in North America. The rehab has been long, draining, and recently included a minor follow‑up procedure. Still, he refuses to let the dream go.

De Zerbi’s cold reality, Kulusevski’s burning belief

Roberto De Zerbi, juggling Tottenham’s survival fight with individual battles like Kulusevski’s, didn’t dress it up when asked about the forward’s chances.

“I don’t know the situation well,” he admitted. “For me, it’s difficult to understand how he can play at the World Cup if he didn’t play any games this season.”

That’s the blunt truth. No minutes, no rhythm, a year out. World Cups don’t wait for anyone.

Yet De Zerbi’s tone shifted when he spoke about the player rather than the prognosis. He revealed he had texted Kulusevski after the win over Aston Villa.

“He told me in the next week, I think, he comes back [to continue his rehab at Hotspur Way]. And I hope he can be available to stay with us in the last game because he is an amazing player.”

Hope, but no guarantees. A manager protecting his team, and perhaps the player, from unrealistic expectations.

Kulusevski, though, lives on the edge of those expectations. Sweden missed the 2022 World Cup, and for a footballer who sees himself as a standard-bearer for his country, the idea of sitting out another global tournament cuts deep.

“I haven't played in a year. I know what the chances are,” he told Viaplay. “But if there is one person on the planet who can do this, I would bet on myself. And we are not just going there to participate. Sweden will aim to be one of the best. As long as I live, I will do everything I can so that Sweden, when we go out and play, will not be afraid of anyone. Brazil, France, whoever they are. That's why I'm on this planet. To give faith and love to my people.”

It’s defiance, not delusion. A player who hasn’t kicked a competitive ball in a year still talking about facing Brazil and France without fear. For Sweden, that kind of conviction is priceless. For Tottenham, the question is simpler: can they get him on the pitch even once before the season ends?

Richarlison scare eased after Villa heroics

While Kulusevski fights his way back from a long-term absence, another attacking pillar briefly set alarm bells ringing.

Richarlison, one of the driving forces in Spurs’ vital 2-1 win over Aston Villa, was missing from training on Wednesday. He had scored in the first half at Villa Park and ran himself into the ground before being substituted late on, a change that immediately sparked fears of another injury in a season littered with setbacks.

This time, though, the concern eased quickly. De Zerbi moved to calm the mood, framing it as a case of fatigue, not a fresh problem.

“Yes [he missed training] because he worked very hard [against Villa],” the Italian said. “I think my mistake was not to substitute him before the end of the game. But Richarlison was playing very well, he was important in the set-pieces and he played a great game. But just fatigue.”

No scans, no long layoff. Just a manager admitting he rode his striker a little too hard in a game Tottenham simply could not afford to lose.

That win over Villa did more than lift spirits. It dragged Spurs out of the Premier League relegation zone and gave De Zerbi a sliver of breathing space in a campaign that has felt suffocating at times. Every sprint, every tackle, every tight muscle now gets scrutinised by a medical department tasked with nursing a tired squad through the final stretch.

Survival now, dreams later

The stakes are clear. Tottenham’s season hangs on the next three games. Leeds on Monday night, then Chelsea, then Everton to close. Three very different opponents, one shared theme: margin for error close to zero.

Inside that pressure cooker, Kulusevski’s story runs on a parallel track. The club want him back around the group, back at Hotspur Way, back feeling like a footballer again. De Zerbi dares to hope he might have him available for the final match, even if only to be part of the squad.

For Sweden, the calculation is harsher. Can a player with no competitive minutes in a year really lead a World Cup charge? Or does his presence, his personality, his unshakeable belief, tip the scales?

Tottenham will focus on staying up. Sweden will soon decide who boards the plane. Somewhere in between, Kulusevski is trying to turn a rehabilitation timetable into a World Cup ticket.