Tottenham Hotspur supporters learned some more grim news about Dejan Kulusevski, as just days after Roberto De Zerbi stated that he would be very surprised if Kulu made the Swedish squad for the 2026 World Cup in North America, the Swedish national team did indeed leave him off their official preliminary squad for the tournament this summer.
Kuluseveski has not played since a year ago when he suffered a knee injury that initially seemed innocuous enough to only be an absence of a few weeks, with Kulu then expected to be ready for the 2025/26 season. But Kulu never was ready, and he never became ready during the season either. The months have rolled by with only a few smattering of updates, no real diagnosis on the extent of the injury, and fears from Tottenham supporters that Kulu may never play for them again.
After the announcement of Kulusevski missing the official World Cup squad, Swedish national team manager Graham Potter spoke about the star right winger and midfielder's injury, mentioning that the new goal is for the player to return to Tottenham Hotspur by the time the 2026/27 Premier League season begins.
Dejan Kulusevski has been missed
The former Chelsea and Brighton manager said, via Chris Cowlin, "With Dejan, again just a very difficult decision. We have to think about what is right for the team, that’s important but also Dejan is in a place where he has had a long fight and he is making progress. It’s important now that this time he can really focus on getting himself ready for the start of the season. Dejan is at a stage where his rehab is so important and he has made some progress. The aim for him would be to start the next season with Tottenham, hit the ground running and to get back on the pitch and do the thing he loves. We have to be careful about that and ultimately that is the priority for him. Once those games start [World Cup], you’re not in an area where you can do big 11 v 11 work, so it would be very difficult for him to get up to where we need him to be. Sometimes you have to take a decision of what does this look like. What is the impact for the player? What is the impact for the team? And it just felt in my stomach it was the right thing for us and for him, but of course now it’s tough to see that, because he wants to be there and he wants to play, I understand. He is a professional person and he accepts it, of course but it is also very difficult as it is with all the guys. These things don’t come along very often, it’s a dream and you’re ending a dream which is not a nice thing believe me.”
It has been quite bitter to see Dejan Kulusevski not in the World Cup squad, but it is, as Roberto De Zerbi said, impossible for someone who has never played to be fit enough and sharp enough for matches to be in the squad for a tournament as prestigious as a World Cup. And again, there is no physical indication that Kulusvski is ready to play games at all.
Tottenham fans just have to hope that Kulu can meet this next milestone of playing for them when the next season starts, because as this nightmare of a campaign has revealed, the Lilywhites really do need Kulu back in tow.
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