Nearly a year and a half. That is how long Dejan Kulusevski has been out of first-team football at Tottenham, since a patella injury to his right knee during a 2-0 defeat at Crystal Palace at the end of the 2024-25 Premier League season.

The recovery has been dogged by setbacks. Kulusevski rejoined full training on the closing day of August before a minor issue briefly pushed him back, and he was reunited with the group the following week.

Lucas Bergvall, his Sweden team-mate, has been watching the process up close.

“He is incredibly hungry and has done incredibly well. He is a real machine. We are all looking forward to having him back,” Bergvall said while on international duty with Sweden.

Read also: Nathan Blake stopped his co-commentator driving home. Rob Phillips was having a heart attack

“I absolutely think so (soon). Then it’s difficult for me to judge how he feels and how the club sees it, but it’s clear that he’s doing incredibly well in training and is making strides every day.”

Kulusevski could be available for Roberto De Zerbi’s matchday squad in the weeks after the current international break, provided the training load holds up without further reaction.

De Zerbi’s Spurs in freefall

Tottenham sit bottom of the Premier League after five games, with two points, two goals scored and eight conceded. It is the club’s worst start in 18 years.

A 3-2 home defeat by Aston Villa sent them into the break without a league win, and it came despite a summer outlay of more than £300m, a club record.

Read also: Zero catches in three games: Giants cut Odell Beckham Jr. as NFL comeback collapses

De Zerbi, appointed at the end of last season to keep Spurs up and then handed the biggest transfer budget in the club’s history, described his side as “so fragile and inconsistent” after the Villa loss. With Cristian Romero and Joao Palhinha both having left, natural leaders on the pitch are scarce.

Kulusevski, a right-sided winger who was one of Tottenham’s most influential attackers before the injury, would be an obvious creative outlet for a team that has scored twice in five league games.

One year before he could train on grass

The knee problem was initially framed as a knock before the club acknowledged its severity. Recovery took roughly a year before Kulusevski could train on grass with a ball again.

The international break closes in mid-October, and De Zerbi will decide then whether Kulusevski is ready to rejoin the matchday squad for Tottenham’s return to Premier League action.

Read also: Real Madrid's injury crisis deepens: Asencio faces surgery and misses El Clasico

Read also: Liverpool sweat over Isak and Gakpo as guilty Man City head to Anfield