Tottenham playmaker Dejan Kulusevski has been left out of Sweden's World Cup squad amid his ongoing injury struggles
Sweden boss Graham Potter has explained his decision to leave Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski out of his World Cup squad.
The Spurs playmaker, who has not kicked a ball all season, was hoping to secure a seat on the plane to North America following his nation's play-off triumph in March.
However, he's been unable to prove his fitness in time to make Potter's roster for the finals.
The ex-West Ham, Chelsea and Brighton boss said: "With Dejan, again just a very, very difficult decision.
"I think we have to think about what is right for the team, that's important but also Dejan is in a place where he has had a long fight and he is making progress.
"I think it's important now that this time he can really focus on getting himself ready for the start of the season. Dejan is at a stage where his rehab is so important and he has made some progress.
"I think the aim for him would be to start the next season with Tottenham, hit the ground running and to get back on the pitch and do the thing he loves. I think we have to be careful about that and ultimately that is the priority for him."
Kulusevski is said to have learned his World Cup fate on Monday, exactly one year on from his injury against Crystal Palace.
Potter added: "Once those games start, you're not in an area where you can do big 11 v 11 work, so it would be very, very difficult for him to get up to where we need him to be.
"Sometimes you have to take a decision of what does this look like. What is the impact for the player? What is the impact for the team?
"And it just felt in my stomach it was the right thing for us and for him, but of course now it's tough to see that, because he wants to be there and he wants to play, I understand.
"He is a professional person and he accepts it, of course but it is also very difficult as it is with all the guys. These things don't come along very often, it's a dream and you're ending a dream which is not a nice thing believe me."
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Kulusevski has now been missing for over a year after damaging his right patella in Tottenham's Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace in May 2025.
Since then, he's missed Europa League glory in Bilbao, pre-season, Sweden's World Cup qualification and play-off campaign plus a full rollercoaster campaign at Spurs.
Speaking in March, he made it clear he was working his way towards a place in Potter's squad, a goal he has sadly been unable to achieve.
He explained: "One hundred percent. Yes. That [the World Cup] is the driving force I have. To have that opportunity is absolutely fantastic.
"It’s a challenge that I haven’t been able to overcome so far in terms of getting healthy, but it’s not over yet. Now the second game starts.
"That’s how it has to end. Otherwise, it hasn’t gone as I planned. I’m absolutely convinced that we’ll win these two games and I’ll be ready to play and play my first World Cup in the USA. That’s how the movie will end, God willing."
Roberto De Zerbi recently issued a brief update on the 26-year-old's condition, stating: “I don’t know the situation well.
“For me, it’s difficult to understand how he can play at the World Cup if he didn’t play any games this season. But I texted him after [the Villa game].
"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.”