Tottenham Hotspur forward Dejan Kulusevski has undergone knee surgery and will miss the Europa League final.
Tottenham confirmed Kulusevski, 25, had surgery on Wednesday after suffering an injury to his right patella during Sunday’s defeat to Crystal Palace. No timeframe has been given for his return, but he will not be available to face Manchester United at the San Mames Stadium on May 21 as Spurs bid to win a first major trophy since 2008.
The Sweden international was substituted in the 19th minute of Tottenham’s 2-0 Premier League loss against Crystal Palace and did not train with the squad the following day.
Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou said after the game that Kulusevski “should be OK.”
“The medical team is not too concerned with him,” said the Australian. “It’s more of a knock than anything else. We are hoping he should be OK.”
Kulusevski has featured heavily under Postecoglou this season, but sustained a foot injury in March that caused him to miss seven games for the club.
Capable of operating on the right side of the front line or in an attacking midfield role, he has made 50 appearances in all competitions this season, scoring 10 times and providing 11 assists. He featured in all 42 of Tottenham’s prior to the foot injury.
Spurs have dealt with an extensive injury crisis that has seen players in every position miss significant amounts of time this season.
Kulusevski’s latest issue is a blow to the side’s creativity ahead of the Europa League final against Manchester United, with midfielders James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall already ruled out for the remainder of the campaign.
Tottenham visit Aston Villa on Friday in their penultimate league game of the season.
‘Kulusevski injury devastating for Spurs’ – analysis
The news that Dejan Kulusevski will miss next Wednesday’s Europa League final after knee surgery is devastating for Tottenham Hotspur.
Kulusevski was Spurs’ best player in the first half of this season and was recovering his sharpness after missing one month with a stress fracture in his left foot. He only played against Crystal Palace last weekend because he needed more minutes to continue that process.
His injury means that Spurs will be without their three best creative midfielders for next Wednesday’s game in Bilbao. Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison went down with ankle and knee injuries respectively the week before last, meaning that Ange Postecoglou will have to find a new combination in midfield against Manchester United. Pape Matar Sarr would be the likely beneficiary, alongside Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur.
(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)