Kulusevski reveals he was 'disappointed in people' during Tottenham's handling of his 526-day injury

Dejan Kulusevski has levelled pointed criticism at Tottenham over the handling of his 526-day injury absence, telling Swedish reporters he was “disappointed in people” during a recovery that at one stage involved the offer of a knee transplant.

The Sweden international missed the entirety of the 2025/26 season with a serious knee injury before making an emotional comeback in Spurs’ 3-1 win over Coventry City last month. Speaking to Swedish media after returning to the national squad for the first time in two years, Kulusevski opened up about the frustrations that had built during his prolonged lay-off.

“I have been disappointed in people during this period but at the same time I have to forgive everything,” he said. “It is also written in the Bible. That is how I have moved on. It is difficult for all people. Unfortunately, we look after our own interests first, often. It has been a tough period because sometimes you wish you had received more help and such. But at the same time I understand that we are all part of a ‘business’. I have moved on and I love being at the club. I received a very good welcome when I came back.”

Tottenham declined to comment on the subject.

Kulusevski’s injury was sustained in a seemingly innocuous challenge with Marc Guehi, but what initially appeared to be a minor knock spiralled into a lengthy and complex recovery. He revealed that after two failed operations, doctors put forward the option of replacing his knee with a donor’s — a prospect he ultimately rejected.

“I had to sit all summer and talk to other doctors about having another operation. It would be a knee transplant — that I had replaced my knee with someone else’s,” he explained. “Then I said no: ‘We’ll do it like this, if I have pain when I play, I have to play with pain’. I trained and tried to live like a normal person. I trusted that it would work out.”

The midfielder acknowledged the severity of the damage, noting that cartilage injuries of this nature have ended careers. “The answer to why it took so long is that there are people who have never even come back from injuries like this,” he said. “Above all, we should be happy that it was possible to come back.”

Tottenham overhauled their medical department over the summer following a damaging run of serious knee injuries that also claimed James Maddison, Wilson Odobert, and Xavi Simmons during the same period.