Dejan Kulusevski Returns to Tottenham Training After Injury
Tottenham’s long wait for Dejan Kulusevski is almost over. Nineteen months after a shattered right patella tore up his career and his World Cup dream, the Sweden international is back in full training – and with him returns a sense of possibility for a team still searching for its first league win.
Kulusevski’s marathon back to the pitch
For Spurs supporters, his absence has felt endless. Kulusevski hasn’t played a competitive minute since the end of the 2024/25 campaign, his momentum halted just as he had established himself as the club’s standout performer in a chaotic season. The injury didn’t just cost him games; it wiped out an entire year and robbed him of a summer on the biggest international stage.
His road back has been anything but smooth. The winger’s rehabilitation stretched across almost two full seasons and even his initial attempt to rejoin the group in August brought a minor setback. Now, at 26, he has finally rejoined full training with the senior squad, a presence that instantly lifts the mood around Hotspur Way.
The timing, though, is still delicate. The home clash with Aston Villa on Saturday will come too early for any matchday involvement, with the technical staff instead targeting a competitive return sometime in October or November. Tottenham know what he represents; they are in no mood to rush.
Roberto De Zerbi made it clear the club will wrap him in care.
“We have to manage Deki in the best way we can, with the medical staff, physical staff, but it’s a great thing for us,” the Spurs manager said. “He’s a good player, he’s a good guy and he deserves to play again.”
That last line hangs in the air. Deserves to play again. After 19 months of waiting, it feels less like a platitude and more like a promise.
A missing pillar in Spurs’ structure
Kulusevski’s importance to this Tottenham side runs deeper than simple numbers. Before the knee gave way, he was the player Spurs leaned on when the rest of the structure wobbled. In a turbulent 2024/25, when performances lurched from one extreme to another, his consistency and creativity offered rare stability.
When that was removed, the team lost more than a right-sided forward. They lost a reference point. The attack has looked blunter, the transitions slower, the belief thinner. The current campaign has underlined that reality in brutal fashion: four Premier League games played, no wins, not even a single goal scored.
In that context, the sight of Kulusevski back among the group is not just a medical update. It is a psychological jolt for a squad that has looked stretched and short of inspiration.
Maddison’s fragile fight for rhythm
Kulusevski is not the only creative force trying to drag himself back to full sharpness. James Maddison’s journey has been just as fraught, if more stop-start.
An ACL tear last August threatened to write off his season entirely, yet he fought his way back in time to help Spurs avoid the drop at the end of the previous campaign. That late surge came at a cost. The current season has already brought fresh shoulder problems, disrupting his rhythm just as he tried to re-establish himself as the team’s on-ball conductor.
De Zerbi knows exactly how rare Maddison’s profile is within this squad. The 29-year-old can slow a game down or rip it open in a single touch, and Tottenham have lacked that kind of control in the final third during this barren start.
“Listen, James is working with the team in the last 10, 15 days. Maybe less than 15 days and even if he’s a technical player, he needs to be fit, to stay in a good condition,” De Zerbi said, stressing that talent alone will not be enough without the physical base beneath it.
The good news for Spurs: Maddison, Pedro Porro and Sandro Tonali are all in contention for the Villa match after missing the midweek cup defeat to Liverpool. For a squad that has been operating on the edge of its depth, that matters.
Pressure building, options returning
Tottenham enter the weekend in an uncomfortable place. Four league games, no wins, no goals. A new regime already feeling the weight of expectation and the murmur of doubt.
De Zerbi has refused to flinch. He remains adamant that if his players keep their nerve and stick to the plan, the results will eventually turn. That belief will be tested again on Saturday against a Villa side that relishes punishing hesitation.
Yet, for the first time in weeks, there is at least a sense of reinforcements assembling. Porro’s energy on the flank, Tonali’s control in midfield, Maddison’s craft between the lines – all are back on the manager’s board. And behind them, not quite ready but finally visible on the horizon, stands Kulusevski.
Spurs have spent the opening month of the season looking short of ideas and shorter of confidence. Now their most influential attacker from 2024/25 is edging towards a return, Maddison is fighting his way to full fitness, and key starters are reappearing from the treatment room.
The question is no longer whether Tottenham will get their creators back. It’s whether they can still salvage this campaign by the time those creators are ready to take control of it.
