Former Sweden star Anders Limpar is delighted to see Dejan Kulusevski back from injury but has warned Tottenham to be careful with his compatriot and not start him in a match until next year.
Kulusevski was out of the game for 526 days following a complicated knee injury suffered in May 2025 but has overcome setbacks following his patella surgery to make two appearances for Spurs from the bench in the past week. His return coincided with the wins against Coventry and Chelsea and this weekend he will face a repeat of the fixture in which he got injured, playing against Crystal Palace at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Kulusevski has looked sharp in both appearances, undertaking a couple of sprints with the ball down the right flank, but Roberto De Zerbi is continuing to the careful with the 26-year-old.
"[James] Maddison and Kulusevski, we have to manage them like two diamonds, because both are special players," said the Spurs boss after Saturday's 2-0 win at Chelsea. "Both have different personalities, different experiences. With the medical staff, we have managed, step by step, day by day, week by week, staying on the pitch, because they are different players."
Now Limpar, who played for Arsenal and came through the famous Brommapojkarna academy in Sweden, as did Kulusevski and his Spurs team-mate Lucas Bergvall, believes De Zerbi must hold off on giving the returning star a start for another four months or so.
"First of all, I have to say, thank God that he is back on the pitch. We all had bad thoughts that he was going to pack it all in and retire. But you can see that he's a true professional. To be out for a couple of years and then get back into training is tough, so all credit to Dejan.
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"It’s going to take a while because it’s so hard being out that amount of time, and then to suddenly come in and dominate the Premier League as he did when he was fit. If he starts to practice now, I can assure you that he’s going to be really good for Tottenham from next autumn," the 61-year-old told PariuriX.com.
Limpar added: "It’s going to take a while for him to get into the rhythm of things, and it's going to take a while mentally wise too. If you've been out two years with an injury like that with the knee, he's not going to sprint at 100 per cent for the first couple of games. He’s going to be a little bit more restricted, and be careful with the tackling, so he’s going to be afraid.
"If he can play some good reserve games and then have good training sessions, we can look for him to start a game in maybe March or April. Maybe he can play the last couple of games for Spurs, and then have a really good pre-season and then go for the next season.
"He should be clever and go at a careful pace, otherwise, if he hurts his knee again, we all know that’s over. There should be no rush because he’s young and he can play another six or seven years in the top flight. You have to just have patience and make sure that the knee is right again."