Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a lift on transfer deadline day as Swedish international Dejan Kulusevski returned to full team training, 477 days after suffering a complex knee injury.
The 26-year-old forward has not featured in a competitive fixture since May 2025, when a challenge during a Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace left him with patella cartilage damage in his right knee.
While initial diagnoses suggested a minor knock, subsequent scans revealed significant cartilage damage requiring surgery.
Dejan Kulusevski returns to Spurs training after 477 days
His rehabilitation was heavily disrupted by setbacks and because cartilage lacks a direct blood supply, the joint failed to heal naturally under increased workloads, forcing Kulusevski to undergo a second surgical procedure to clean out the affected area.
In total, the Swede's 15-month ordeal has forced him to sit out well over 60 matches for club and country.
From the sidelines, Kulusevski has watched a turbulent chapter in Spurs’ recent history unfold. Former manager Ange Postecoglou departed, Thomas Frank arrived and left, then so did Igor Tudor.
New head coach Roberto De Zerbi has since taken the reins, but Kulusevski has been out of action for so long, he has missed Tottenham's 2025 Europa League title, as well as the entirety of last season's domestic struggles, including a 17th-place Premier League finish. He was also forced to miss Sweden’s 2026 World Cup campaign.
For De Zerbi, who has faced a frustrating start to the 2026/27 campaign following consecutive losses to Brentford and Newcastle, Kulusevski’s return provides a boost to Tottenham’s attacking options.
The versatile attacker’s ability to operate as a direct right-winger or more of a central playmaker offers De Zerbi the options his side has lacked for quite some time.
Given that Kulusevski has spent 477 days away from first-team action, realistic expectations must be maintained. Re-integrating into high-intensity Premier League football following two surgical procedures and a prolonged period of inactivity will require significant patience from Spurs supporters, and it will inevitably take time before he recovers full match sharpness and rhythm.
Nevertheless, stepping back onto the training pitch alongside his teammates is a significant milestone.
"After 477 days I came back to full team training," Kulusevski wrote on social media.
"Everything is impossible until is [sic] not. Want to see a miracle. Be one. See u soon."