Kulusevski's Determination for World Cup Return
Dejan Kulusevski is running out of road, but he refuses to slow down.
The Tottenham winger has not kicked a ball in anger since May 2025, his season swallowed by a stubborn patella injury and the grind of rehab that followed. A minor follow-up procedure recently added another detour to an already tortuous journey. Yet his eyes remain fixed on one destination: Graham Potter’s Sweden squad and a World Cup in North America that he is desperate not to watch from his sofa.
De Zerbi’s doubt, Kulusevski’s defiance
Roberto De Zerbi, charged with steering Spurs away from danger, did not dress it up when asked about Kulusevski’s chances.
“I don’t know the situation well,” he admitted. “For me, it’s difficult to understand how he can play at the World Cup if he didn’t play any games this season.”
That is the blunt reality. No minutes, no rhythm, no proof of fitness. National-team coaches rarely gamble on sentiment on the sport’s biggest stage.
Yet De Zerbi’s tone shifted when the conversation turned from probability to personality.
“I texted him after [the Villa game]. He told me in the next week, I think, he comes back [to continue his rehab at Hotspur Way]. And I hope he can be available to stay with us in the last game because he is an amazing player.”
Hope, not expectation. But hope all the same.
Kulusevski, as ever, refuses to bow to the odds. Sweden missed the 2022 World Cup and the former Juventus forward has carried that scar ever since. For him, this tournament is not just another date on the calendar; it is a mission.
“I haven't played in a year. I know what the chances are,” he told Viaplay. “But if there is one person on the planet who can do this, I would bet on myself. And we are not just going there to participate. Sweden will aim to be one of the best. As long as I live, I will do everything I can so that Sweden, when we go out and play, will not be afraid of anyone. Brazil, France, whoever they are. That's why I'm on this planet. To give faith and love to my people.”
It is not the language of a player easing his way back. It is a manifesto. Whether his body can match that conviction in time is another question entirely.
Richarlison scare eased
While Kulusevski works in the shadows of the treatment room, another forward briefly set alarm bells ringing.
Richarlison, fresh from a tireless display and a first-half goal in Tottenham’s vital 2-1 win over Aston Villa, did not appear in training on Wednesday. He had been substituted late in that match, a change that instantly sparked talk of yet another setback for a player whose Spurs career has been punctuated by interruptions.
De Zerbi moved quickly to shut that down.
“Yes [he missed training] because he worked very hard [against Villa],” the Italian explained. “I think my mistake was not to substitute him before the end of the game. But Richarlison was playing very well, he was important in the set-pieces and he played a great game. But just fatigue.”
No muscle tear. No scan. Just a manager acknowledging he squeezed every last drop from his centre-forward in a game Tottenham could not afford to lose.
For a club that has spent the season glancing nervously over its shoulder, “just fatigue” counts as good news.
Spurs fight for air as run-in looms
That win over Villa did more than lift spirits. It dragged Spurs out of the Premier League relegation zone and gave De Zerbi a sliver of breathing space in a campaign that has felt suffocating at times.
Inside the club, the medical department now holds as much sway as the tactics board. Every session is calibrated, every workload measured, the margin for error tiny. Lose one more key attacker and the entire balance of the side shifts.
Leeds await on Monday night, the first of three fixtures that will define Tottenham’s season. Chelsea and Everton follow to close the campaign, a trio of games loaded with jeopardy and opportunity in equal measure.
De Zerbi wants as many weapons available as possible. Richarlison rested, not broken. Kulusevski, perhaps, back on the grass at Hotspur Way, even if only for a cameo before the curtain falls.
For Sweden, the question is harsher: can a year’s absence be erased in a few frantic weeks, or will one of their most gifted players be left chasing a World Cup that moved on without him?
