Dejan Kulusevski hasn't played since injuring his patella in May 2025, and changes to Tottenham's Champions League squad suggest we may not see the Swede in action at all this season.
Kulusevski ranks among Spurs' best signings of recent years, flourishing under Antonio Conte and emerging as the club's star man during the first half of Ange Postecoglou's second season.
He burned out down the stretch, struggling with injuries, and succumbed to a knee injury just days before the Europa League final. "Just a knock," big Ange said at the time, but we're now almost nine months on and it's still not clear when our elegant Swedish playmaker will return to the fold.
Tottenham confirm changes to Champions League squad with no Kulusevski
After the extent of Kulusevski's patella injury became clear, there was no expectation that he would be ready for the start of the 2025/26 campaign. Since then, Thomas Frank has constantly shifted the goalposts.
First it was mid-autumn, then the end of the year, the start of 2026, etc. Last month, Frank described Kulusevski's injury as "complicated", adding that he'd have a better idea regarding a potential return date once the swelling around his knee went down following an injection.
And while the manager hasn't explicitly provided a timeframe for the playmaker's comeback, his latest decision has confirmed that Kulusevski won't be back anytime soon.
Tottenham have revealed their Champions League squad for the knockout stages, with their A-List trimmed from 25 to 22 as punishment for only being able to include one 'club-trained' player, Brandom Austin.
Kulusevski remains excluded, meaning the Swede won't be able to play a part in the latter stages of the competition, no matter how far Spurs progress. James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies and Yves Bissouma have also been left out.
Coming in, Mathys Tel, who was controversially omitted for the league phase, will be looking to make his mark, as will new signing Conor Gallagher, who's already played in this year's competition with Atlético Madrid. Radu Drăgușin has also made the cut, having recently recovered from a long-term knee injury.
The indirect Kulusevski injury update is a serious concern, with the extent of his injury leading some supporters to fear whether the Swedish international, who may yet end up at the World Cup this summer, will ever be the same again. I'd be stunned if he played a single minute this season.