Dejan Kulusevski's Race Against Time for World Cup Selection

Dejan Kulusevski is still staring at the clock.

Out since May 2025 with a stubborn patella injury, the Tottenham winger is fighting a race against time to make Graham Potter’s Sweden squad for this summer’s World Cup in North America. The rehab has been long, draining and, at times, brutal. A recent minor follow-up procedure underlined how complicated the road back has been.

Roberto De Zerbi, asked about the 25-year-old’s chances, did not sugar-coat it.

“I don’t know the situation well,” the Spurs head coach admitted. “For me, it’s difficult to understand how he can play at the World Cup if he didn’t play any games this season. But I texted him after [the Villa game]. He told me in the next week, I think, he comes back [to continue his rehab at Hotspur Way]. And I hope he can be available to stay with us in the last game because he is an amazing player.”

That is the tension of Kulusevski’s spring. A manager trying to protect a player and a player refusing to give up the dream.

Kulusevski’s World Cup mission

Sweden missed the 2022 World Cup. For a country used to being part of the conversation, that hurt. For Kulusevski, now one of the faces of this new era, the idea of sitting out another global tournament feels unthinkable.

He has not hidden how much this matters.

“I haven't played in a year. I know what the chances are,” he told Viaplay. “But if there is one person on the planet who can do this, I would bet on myself. And we are not just going there to participate. Sweden will aim to be one of the best. As long as I live, I will do everything I can so that Sweden, when we go out and play, will not be afraid of anyone. Brazil, France, whoever they are. That's why I'm on this planet. To give faith and love to my people.”

It is defiance, but it is also a declaration. A player who has been stuck in the gym and the treatment room for a year is still talking about taking on Brazil and France. Still talking about responsibility. Still talking about faith.

For Spurs, the timeline is more immediate. De Zerbi would simply like to see Kulusevski back at Hotspur Way in the coming days, working on the grass again, and, if everything breaks right, fit enough to be part of the squad for the final match of the season. Even a brief cameo would feel like a small victory at the end of a draining campaign.

Richarlison scare eased

While Kulusevski continues his long-haul recovery, another forward briefly set pulses racing at Spurs’ training ground this week.

Richarlison, fresh from a ferocious display in the 2-1 win over Aston Villa, did not train on Wednesday. He had scored in the first half at the weekend and ran himself into the ground before coming off late on, prompting fears of yet another setback for a player whose body has been pushed hard in recent seasons.

De Zerbi moved quickly to calm those fears.

“Yes [he missed training] because he worked very hard [against Villa],” the Italian said. “I think my mistake was not to substitute him before the end of the game. But Richarlison was playing very well, he was important in the set-pieces and he played a great game. But just fatigue.”

No muscle tear. No scan. Just a manager admitting he kept a key man on a little too long because he was changing the game.

For Tottenham, that matters. Richarlison has been one of the few consistent sources of energy and edge in a season that has veered dangerously close to disaster.

Spurs claw clear, but the margin is thin

The win over Villa dragged Spurs out of the Premier League relegation zone and gave them something they have rarely enjoyed this year: breathing room.

It is not comfort. Not yet. The table still squeezes them. One bad week and the anxiety returns.

Inside the club, the medical staff now carry almost as much responsibility as the forwards. Every training session is measured. Every minute on the pitch weighed up against what is still to come. With the run-in compressed and the stakes high, De Zerbi needs bodies as much as he needs brilliance.

Leeds await on Monday night, a fixture that has the feel of a trap if Spurs misjudge the intensity. After that, Chelsea and Everton close the campaign, two games that could still define how this season is remembered: a narrow escape, or something far more damaging.

Between those fixtures and the looming World Cup, Tottenham and Sweden are bound together by the same question.

How much can they squeeze out of Dejan Kulusevski’s body in time, and how far can Richarlison and the rest carry Spurs while he fights his way back?