Dejan Kulusevski has posted his most encouraging training footage yet as the Tottenham Hotspur attacker continues his long road back from a serious knee injury.

The 26-year-old Swede last featured in a competitive match on May 11, 2025, when he suffered a complicated patella injury to his right knee during Spurs’ Premier League clash with Crystal Palace.

The injury was sustained after Kulusevski was caught in a tackle by England international Marc Guehi, and it has now been almost 14 months since he last set foot on a football pitch.

His recovery has been far from straightforward, with a clean-up procedure required after he experienced discomfort during training, delaying his progress significantly.

His World Cup dream was also left in ruins after he was unable to get back to full fitness before the conclusion of last season, a bitter blow for the talented attacker.

Last week, Kulusevski posted a video on his Instagram story showing him passing to his trainer, controlling balls at various heights, and jogging to strike into small goals, moving freely and accurately.

Then on Sunday, he uploaded an even more promising couple of clips showing him running in and curling shots from outside the box into different corners of a full-sized net with real power.

He was using his right leg freely, either shooting with it or placing considerable weight on it while finishing with his left, the most positive footage seen since his injury occurred.

The uptick in social media activity comes after former Sweden international Simon Thern raised doubts in his column for fotballskanalen, writing: “Kulusevski. I had played Dejan centrally. Incredible at covering and keeping the ball, dangerous going forward. It feels like a perfect midfield trio! If Kulusevski makes it back to football… I’ve started to doubt it after seeing pictures of how he moves.”

It is perhaps no coincidence that Kulusevski has significantly increased the frequency of his training posts since that column appeared online.

Before the World Cup, Sweden’s national team doctor Jonas Werner spoke in detail about the complexity of the injury, saying: “It’s been a long story with Dejan. He’s done everything he can to get ready, but when it came to deciding [if he would make the squad] he wasn’t.”

Werner explained further: “The reason is that he hasn’t played football in a year, but even the medical assessments made this spring have pointed in the direction that he wouldn’t be ready.”

The doctor also outlined the specific medical challenges involved, stating: “Cartilage injuries, like in Dejan’s case, are troublesome. They are difficult to treat. Plus, he has it in a place that gets a lot of stress. The injury simply hasn’t healed enough to handle that stress.”

Despite the long and difficult recovery, Werner struck a hopeful tone when asked whether the former Juventus man would return to professional football, saying: “I have high hopes for that and I really hope so.”

Tottenham fans will be encouraged by the latest training footage, with the attacking midfielder’s creativity and energy sorely missed during his extended absence from the first team.

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