Kulusevski's Road to Recovery Boosts Tottenham's Season Hopes

Tottenham have been waiting a long time for this.

Dejan Kulusevski, once the heartbeat of their attack, has not kicked a competitive ball since the end of the 2024/25 season. A brutal right patella injury ripped him out of the side and, even crueller, out of a summer World Cup. Nineteen months gone. A career on pause.

Now he is back in full training – and that changes the mood around the club.

Kulusevski’s long road back

The 26-year-old’s recovery has been anything but straightforward. His initial attempt to return in August brought a minor setback and another spell of frustration. But this time the comeback feels real. He is training fully with the senior squad, and inside the camp his presence has given a jolt of belief to a team still hunting their first league win of the season and yet to score a goal.

Saturday’s meeting with Aston Villa will arrive too soon for him to be involved. Tottenham will not rush a player of this importance after such a long lay-off. The technical staff are instead working towards a competitive return in October or November, targeting a window where he can rejoin the matchday squad with a proper physical base rather than as a desperate gamble.

Roberto De Zerbi made it clear he intends to treat the Swede as a long-term asset, not a quick fix.

“We have to manage Deki in the best way we can, with the medical staff, physical staff, but it’s a great thing for us,” the Tottenham head coach said. “He’s a good player, he’s a good guy and he deserves to play again.”

Before the injury, Kulusevski was widely viewed as Spurs’ standout performer in a chaotic 2024/25 campaign. While the club lurched from one problem to another, he provided control, creativity and a cutting edge. Losing him for the entire following year stripped Tottenham of their most reliable attacking outlet. His return, even just to the training pitch, feels like a turning of the tide.

Maddison edging back, too

Kulusevski is not the only creative force trying to fight his way back to full sharpness.

James Maddison has lived his own injury saga. An ACL tear last August threatened to wipe out his season, yet he battled back to feature at the end of the previous campaign and played a key role in helping Spurs avoid relegation. That effort came at a cost. This season, shoulder issues have continued to interrupt his rhythm.

De Zerbi, though, knows exactly what Maddison brings when he is anywhere near his best. In a squad short on players who can see and execute the final pass, the 29-year-old stands out.

“Listen, James is working with the team in the last 10, 15 days. Maybe less than 15 days and even if he’s a technical player, he needs to be fit, to stay in a good condition,” De Zerbi said, underlining that talent alone is not enough without the physical base to sustain his game.

Crucially for the weekend, the manager confirmed that Maddison is in contention to face Villa, along with Pedro Porro and Sandro Tonali. All three missed the midweek cup defeat to Liverpool, a night that exposed just how thin and tired this Tottenham squad can look when key figures are absent.

Pressure building, options returning

Tottenham go into the Villa clash in a precarious position. Four Premier League matches played, no wins, no goals. A new regime under scrutiny before it has had the chance to settle. The table may still be young, but the mood can sour quickly when the scoreboard refuses to budge.

De Zerbi, though, is not blinking. He has stressed that performances will turn into points if his players keep their nerve and trust the process. The returning bodies give weight to that message.

Porro’s availability restores an attacking outlet from right-back that Spurs have badly missed. Tonali adds control and personality in midfield. Maddison, if cleared to start or even to come from the bench, offers the one thing this team has lacked most in the opening weeks: invention in the final third.

And hovering just behind them, not yet ready but suddenly visible again, is Kulusevski. His timeline is measured in weeks, not months now. For a club starved of goals and confidence, the thought of the Swede stepping back into competitive football in October or November feels less like a medical update and more like a promise.

If Tottenham can survive this early storm, will his return mark the moment their season finally catches fire?