Injured Tottenham attacker Dejan Kulusevski was spotted playing basketball.
Dejan Kulusevski has been filmed playing basketball as part of his recovery process, offering Tottenham Hotspur supporters an encouraging glimpse of a player working his way back to fitness after an absence that has now stretched to 392 days since his last appearance in a Spurs shirt.
The footage, shared by Chris Cowlin on X, shows the Swedish winger moving freely on the basketball court, a sight that will provide genuine encouragement to supporters who have barely seen him in a Tottenham shirt all season. Kulusevski’s knee injury, robbed the club of one of their most creative and dynamic attacking players, that subsequently descended into a survival battle. His presence throughout the season might well have changed the entire trajectory of events in north London.
Basketball is a recognised part of rehabilitation for footballers recovering from knee and lower limb injuries, providing cardiovascular conditioning and lateral movement without placing the same impact stress on the joints that running or ball work would create at an earlier stage. The fact that Kulusevski is moving dynamically, changing direction, and competing on the court is a positive indicator of where his recovery currently stands.
The 392-day absence puts his lay-off in a sobering context. While Xavi Simons, James Maddison, and Wilson Odobert have all suffered ACL injuries during the same campaign, Kulusevski’s has been the longest running, predating all of them and contributing significantly to the attacking void that haunted Tottenham throughout the season. Jamie Carragher pointed to the extraordinary bad fortune of three players in similar positions, all suffering ACL injuries in the same campaign, as a genuine mitigating factor in the club’s near-relegation.
Dejan Kulusevski’s return timeline is unclear
The question of when Kulusevski will be ready to return to full training and competitive football remains unanswered, but the basketball footage suggests the rehabilitation is progressing in the right direction. For De Zerbi, who is currently rebuilding the squad this summer, a fit and fully recovered Kulusevski represents one of the most significant potential additions available to him without spending a single pound in the transfer market. Seeing him on a basketball court, moving freely and competing, is as welcome a piece of news as any transfer announcement.