Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski Set for Comeback After Long Injury Layoff
Tottenham’s long wait for Dejan Kulusevski is almost over.
The Sweden international has not played a competitive minute since the end of the 2024/25 season, his career effectively put on pause for 19 months by a serious right patella injury that also robbed him of a place at the summer World Cup. For a player who had become the heartbeat of Spurs’ attack, the absence has felt even longer.
The road back has been anything but smooth. Kulusevski’s rehabilitation was painstaking, and a minor setback during an attempted return in August briefly threatened to stall his progress again. Now, at 26, he is finally back in full training with the first team, a sight that has changed the mood around a squad still searching for its first league win – and first goal – of the season.
Saturday’s meeting with Aston Villa will come too early for him. Tottenham will not rush this one. The coaching and medical teams are instead targeting a competitive return at some point in October or November, a more cautious timeline for a player they see as central to the club’s future.
Head coach Roberto De Zerbi made it clear just how much Kulusevski’s presence means inside the camp, both on and off the ball.
“We have to manage Deki in the best way we can, with the medical staff, physical staff, but it’s a great thing for us,” the former Brighton manager said. “He’s a good player, he’s a good guy and he deserves to play again.”
Those words are not empty praise. Before the injury, Kulusevski was widely viewed as Tottenham’s standout performer during a chaotic 2024/25 campaign, dragging the team forward with his creativity and work rate while the season unraveled around him. When his knee gave way, Spurs lost far more than just another attacker; they lost their main reference point in the final third and then had to cope without him for an entire year.
Maddison fighting his own battle
Kulusevski is not the only creative fulcrum trying to piece his career rhythm back together.
James Maddison has been locked in his own struggle with fitness. An ACL tear last August demanded a huge effort just to return in time to help Spurs avoid relegation at the end of last season. He made it back and played his part in keeping the club in the division, but the cost has been a constant battle with his body.
This year, shoulder problems have interrupted him again, denying De Zerbi one of the few players in the squad capable of unlocking defences with a single pass or touch. The manager knows exactly what he loses when Maddison is missing.
Speaking about the 29-year-old’s condition and influence, De Zerbi highlighted how rare his profile is within the group and then delivered the update every Spurs supporter wanted to hear. Pedro Porro, Sandro Tonali and Maddison are all in contention to face Villa.
“Listen, James is working with the team in the last 10, 15 days. Maybe less than 15 days and even if he’s a technical player, he needs to be fit, to stay in a good condition,” De Zerbi said, underlining that talent alone will not be enough without physical sharpness.
If Maddison is passed fit to feature, even from the bench, Spurs regain a conductor. If he and Kulusevski can both reach full throttle later this autumn, the entire shape of Tottenham’s attacking play changes.
A fragile start, a stubborn manager
The context around all of this is stark. Tottenham go into the weekend in trouble.
Four Premier League games played. No wins. No goals. For a club that has spent the last decade branding itself on attacking football, the numbers are jarring and the pressure on the new regime is already rising.
De Zerbi, though, has not flinched. He has insisted that performances, structure and belief will eventually drag the results into line, as long as his players keep their nerve and stick to the plan. The return of key figures might just buy him the time he needs.
The potential availability of Porro and Tonali, both of whom missed the midweek cup defeat to Liverpool, should help. Their absence was keenly felt in a side that has looked stretched and short of options in recent weeks. With them back in the frame and Maddison edging closer to full sharpness, the squad suddenly appears deeper, less brittle.
And somewhere behind the scenes, Kulusevski is closing in, training at full tilt again, waiting for the green light.
Tottenham’s season has started in silence on the scoresheet. The question now is whether the return of their creators can turn the volume back up before the campaign slips away.
