Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski has now opened up on the grim options that he was faced with after going under the knife twice to fix his knee last year.
The Tottenham man’s complicated patella injury proved extremely complicated to solve as his cartilage had completely broken off his right kneecap.
Kulusevski had two different operations last year, and the attacking midfielder has admitted that he started to fear that his career would be over, as he still was not able to walk properly 12 months after the injury.
However, the 26-year-old has been able to successfully battle back against all odds and is now back out on the pitch, having featured as a substitute in each of Spurs’ last four games.
The former Juventus man has now been called up to the Sweden squad for the first time in two years after missing the country’s World Cup campaign in the summer.
Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski shares why he rejected knee transplant option
In a candid interview with Fotbollskanalen (as relayed by Sport Witness), the 26-year-old has now confessed that he was given the option of having another procedure earlier this year.
Kulusevski revealed that a knee transplant was suggested to him as an option, but he was warned that the procedure would put him out for another 18 months and his chances of returning to football after the operation would only be 50 per cent.
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He said: “I spent the whole summer talking to other doctors about having another operation. It would have been a knee transplant. I would have exchanged my knee for someone else’s. I said no. If I’m in pain when I play, then I’ll have to play with pain.
“I was training ten hours a day, but it wasn’t working. It didn’t matter what I did. That’s when I started thinking: ‘If it’s over, it’s over.’ Eventually, he felt he had to prepare his family for the worst. I had to tell my mum: ‘I don’t think it’s going to work’.”
Dejan Kulusevski shared that Sweden legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic and his former Spurs teammate Ivan Perisic were the ones who suggested the doctor who gave him a clear roadmap to get back into the pitch.
He added: “Zlatan and Perisic wanted me to go there. I went, and the Serbian doctor was important to me. He said: ‘Don’t think about other operations, this is what we’re going to do’.”
The Tottenham man shared that after he successfully managed to return to the pitch against Coventry City, Ibrahimovic sent him a one-word message: “Bravo”.
Dejan Kulusevski shared that many people, including some at Tottenham, were sceptical about whether he could overcome his knee problem and make a comeback.
However, Kulusevski confessed that he does not hold grudges against any of those figures, and is now enjoying football with a youthful exuberance after the game was taken away from him for more than a year and a half.
The former Juvenuts man revealed: “There were many who didn’t believe it; many were sceptical. Even at the club. I’ve been disappointed in people during this period, but at the same time I have to forgive everything.
“Sometimes you wish you’d received more help and so on. But at the same time, I understand we’re all part of a business. I’ve moved on, and I love being at the club. I received a really good welcome when I came back.”
“I’m trying to get rid of everything and become that little boy again. Little Dejan, who was eight years old and knew nothing, but knew how to play football.”