Brighton & Hove Albion’s Yasin Ayari has talked about Tottenham Hotspur star Dejan Kulusevski struggling through his injury nightmare.
The Brighton player made his debut for Sweden in January 2023 and has been a regular since 2024.
However, the midfielder hasn’t been able to play alongside the Tottenham player for the national team since March 2025.
That’s because Kulusevski suffered a knee injury in May last year, cutting short his season with the Premier League side. It also forced him to miss Tottenham’s Europa League final win over Manchester United.
The 25-year-old forward underwent surgery and is yet to make an appearance for Spurs since. During the time he’s been out, the club replaced Ange Postecoglou with Thomas Frank and the Dane with Igor Tudor in February.
Sport Witness have provided a timeline of the former Juventus man’s recovery process and the delay in his return.
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 Chelseamanager hinted Kulusevski could return “around New Year”.
A month later, Potterwas 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.”
Sweden manager Graham Potter is yet to call up Dejan Kulusevski since his appointment in October. His situation forces the coach to leave him out of the list for this international break.
Brighton man on Tottenham star’s struggles
Yasin Ayari has made it to Potter’s list and is now with the national team camp. This gave Fotbollskanalen an opportunity to chat with the Brighton man. The Tottenham star’s absence came up during the conversation.
The 22-year-old is a close friend of Dejan Kulusevski, and is engaged to the Spurs player’s sister. Ayari talked about his compatriot’s injury and what the national team miss in his absence.
“He is a good personality both on and off the field. A natural leader. But first and foremost his qualities, of course. A fantastic footballer. Now he is unfortunately not there, but we have to make the best of the situation,” he said.
“I see him suffering and I know how much this means to him, especially when it comes to the national team. He wants to do something big with this country. I think everyone knows that. Of course it’s a shame. But I just hope it will be good when he comes back.
“You want to be there and support. It’s tough even if you don’t show it. I try to be there. Family and friends try to be there to support him. We try to help him as much as we can. But we all know how strong he is mentally.”
Sweden’s squad and March fixture
The national team have a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine in Valencia on March 26th. A defeat tomorrow will end their hope of making it to the World Cup.
Graham Potter’s squad for this match:
Goalkeepers: Kristoffer Nordfeldt, Melker Ellborg, Noel Tornqvist
Defenders: Victor Lindelof, Isak Hien, Gabriel Gudmundsson, Carl Starfelt, Daniel Svensson, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Herman Johansson
Midfielders: Mattias Svanberg, Jesper Karlstrom, Yasin Ayari, Hugo Larsson, Lucas Bergvall, Besfort Zeneli, Gustav Lundgren, Williot Swedberg, Eric Smith, Elliot Stroud
Forwards: Viktor Gyokeres, Anthony Elanga, Gustaf Nilsson, Benjamin Nygren, Roony Bardghji, Taha Ali