Dejan Kulusevski last played for Tottenham Hotspur on 11 May, 2025. In the 10 months since Spurs have won the Europa League, finished 17th, mired themselves in a relegation battle and appointed two new managers, neither of whom he has featured under yet.
Nobody in the medical team expected him to be sidelined for so long. Ange Postecoglou initially described it as a “knock” over which the club were “not too concerned”.
Kulusevski had further keyhole surgery earlier in March, in his words to “take out what was not supposed to be there – knee is great now”.
There are different ways a player can damage the patella, or kneecap, from cartilage injuries to the extensor mechanism. Whether it is cartilage or the extension mechanism will dictate the prognosis of how long he will be unable to play for.
There is still no date being put on his return after he was seen limping while visiting the Sweden squad as they prepare for a World Cup qualifier against Ukraine which is taking place in Spain. Updates have been minimal as he has travelled between England and Barcelona, where he has been undergoing rehab.
It is difficult to overstate the significance of his absence. At his peak in the 2024-25 season, Spurs were putting more successful crosses into the opposition box than any other side in the top flight. Only Pedro Porro played more minutes (2,608) than Kulusevski (2,391) and without the forward, Spurs’ xG (expected goals) is down from 59.7 a season to 32.5.
Kulusevski’s injury – the full timeline
August 2025 – It is expected he will not return until the New Year
October 2025 – There is some optimism he is edging closer to playing on grass again
December 2025 – Kulusevski is given injections to manage the pain
March 2026 – Igor Tudor says there is no update
Goals per game is down from 1.7 to 1.3, with Kulusevski having created around 14 per cent of their big chances.
The reasons for Tottenham’s collapse in form are complex and can’t be attributed to any one injury, not least because they have had so many – interim boss Igor Tudor was recently without 13 senior players.
Kulusevski’s absence has been compounded by James Maddison’s ACL tear which has ruled him out of the entire campaign so far; in attack they are currently without Wilson Odobert and Mohammed Kudus too, with Dominic Solanke and Richarlison having also missed long spells.
Kulusevski, 25, had previously had very few serious fitness concerns, prior to his stress fracture and a thigh problem in 2022-23 that ruled him out for 10 games.
He went on to play some of his best football under Postecoglou in a more central role, but has never played alongside summer additions Kudus and Xavi Simons. None of the current attack have matched his 19 goal contributions for last term in all competitions.
A comeback this season has not been ruled out – in time for the remaining seven games which will dictate Spurs’ Premier League survival.