Dejan Kulusevski's comeback has a sharper edge than a normal injury return. After 526 days without making an appearance for Tottenham, he said he was "disappointed in people" during the lay-off, even as he insisted he has forgiven everything and feels welcome back at the club.
The line he drew around the injury lay-off
Kulusevski missed the whole 2025/26 season before making his comeback against Coventry City. The scale of the absence explains why the quotes landed so heavily, but the football part of the story is still simple enough: he was out for 526 days, needed surgery and said a knee transplant had even been discussed.
He also said the injury had at times seemed impossible and that he feared he might never play again. That is a long way from a routine setback, and it is why the recovery has drawn attention beyond the normal comeback chatter.
What he said about Tottenham and Sweden
The criticism itself was not a single explosive accusation, more a clear sense of frustration. Kulusevski said, "There were many who didn’t believe it, many were skeptical. Even at the club." He added, "Sometimes you wish you’d received more help and so on. But at the same time, I understand we’re all part of a business."
The workload is still being handled carefully. Sweden manager Graham Potter said, "We are of course in contact with Tottenham, and it is logical that we work closely with them," while Kulusevski said he expects around 30 minutes in each of Sweden’s next two Nations League games against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Poland.
The numbers back up that cautious approach. He has only four appearances this season and just 42 minutes in total. He is back in the conversation, but not back to full speed, and Tottenham are treating him like a player still coming back from a major recovery rather than someone ready to take on a full load.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
