The Dejan Kulusevski injury has become one of the most prolonged and complicated sagas in recent Premier League history, with the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder missing an entire season through a serious knee problem.
Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella during Tottenham’s 2-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace in May 2025 and underwent surgery shortly after, ruling him out for an extended period.
What initially appeared to be a manageable setback quickly evolved into something far more complex.
Then Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou revealed the knee had appeared structurally sound at first, but that it had flared up significantly the day after the match, ultimately requiring surgery that would sideline the Swedish midfielder for at least a few months.
The timeline kept slipping, however, with Kulusevski failing to feature under new manager Thomas Frank throughout the entire 2025-26 campaign.
At one stage the Dejan Kulusevski injury had kept him from even training on grass, with further setbacks including an additional injection that pushed his return back by at least another month.
Around the March 2026 International break, footage emerged of Kulusevski walking with a limp while meeting up with the Swedish national team, sending supporters into a tailspin.
The player clarified the situation himself, confirming via Instagram that he had undergone a small procedure two weeks earlier, that his knee was in a good place, and that the intervention had finally identified the underlying problem keeping him out.
He expressed optimism about his return, describing the experience as finally being able to see the light at the end of a long tunnel.
Despite his recovery efforts, Kulusevski was ultimately unable to prove his fitness in time for the upcoming World Cup, with Sweden head coach Graham Potter officially confirming his exclusion from the final 26-man squad.
The Dejan Kulusevski injury has been a costly blow for Tottenham, who have struggled for creativity and attacking output throughout the campaign.
Alongside Kulusevski, playmaker James Maddison tore his ACL last August, further stripping Spurs of their primary creative forces across the bulk of the season.
Kulusevski had been one of Tottenham’s standout performers before the injury struck, having scored ten goals in 2024-25 and cemented himself as an essential piece of the attack.
Comparisons have been made to the devastating knee injury that derailed Ronaldo’s early career in 2000, though Kulusevski’s situation is not believed to be quite so severe, and the player remains optimistic about a full return.
His contract runs until 2028, giving both club and player sufficient time to rebuild once rehabilitation is complete.