Kulusevski's Fight for World Cup Spot Amid Injury Struggles

Dejan Kulusevski is fighting the clock and his own body.

Out since May 2025 with a stubborn patella injury, the Tottenham winger has spent the past year in treatment rooms and gyms rather than stadiums, recently undergoing a minor follow‑up procedure as part of a gruelling rehabilitation. Now comes the hardest part: trying to convince Graham Potter – and his own knee – that he can still make Sweden’s World Cup squad this summer.

De Zerbi’s doubt, Kulusevski’s defiance

Roberto De Zerbi did not dress it up when asked about the 25‑year‑old’s chances.

“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.”

It was blunt, and it was fair. Kulusevski has not kicked a competitive ball in a year. Elite international football rarely waits for anyone.

Yet even De Zerbi couldn’t hide his admiration for a player he still hopes to see before the season closes.

“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 sliver of daylight Kulusevski is sprinting towards.

Sweden missed the 2022 World Cup and the former Juventus forward has made no secret of how much this one means. For him, it is not just a tournament. It is a mission.

“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 the rhetoric of a leader who refuses to let an injury define his prime years. The reality is harsher: without a single club appearance this season, he may need a minor miracle to convince Potter. But nobody inside Hotspur Way doubts his conviction.

Richarlison scare eased

While Kulusevski works alone on the long road back, another forward briefly set pulses racing on Wednesday.

Richarlison, fresh from a bruising shift in Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa, was missing from training. He had scored in the first half at the weekend and ran himself into the ground before being substituted late on, a change that immediately sparked questions over a potential new problem.

Not this time.

De Zerbi moved quickly to calm the noise, explaining that the Brazilian’s absence was planned rather than enforced.

“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.”

Just fatigue. Two words Tottenham’s medical staff will gladly take in a season that has rarely offered them such simplicity.

Spurs claw clear, but the run‑in bites

That victory over Villa did more than just restore a little belief. It dragged Spurs out of the Premier League relegation zone, easing the suffocating pressure that had built around a difficult, disjointed campaign.

The margins remain thin. The mood, fragile.

Inside the club, the focus has shifted to managing bodies as much as tactics. With players patched up and minutes monitored, De Zerbi needs as many fit options as possible for the final stretch.

Leeds await on Monday night. Then Chelsea. Then Everton to close the season.

Three games that will decide whether this year is remembered as a narrow escape or something far more damaging – and, for Kulusevski, whether his next meaningful appearance comes in a Spurs shirt or on the biggest stage of all.