Dejan Kulusevski reveals 'hardest day of my life' amid Tottenham injury hell

The winger was forced to sit and spectate from the sidelines as Spurs beat Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao to claim a maiden European crown and a first trophy since their League Cup triumph in 2008.

That was due to what would prove to be a serious patella injury which he picked up on the final day of the 2024-25 campaign against Crystal Palace after a first-half collision with Marc Guehi.

The Swedish international was then out for the entirety of the 2025-26 campaign, and he has only just returned to action, making his long-anticipated return to the field in Spurs’ 3-1 victory over Coventry City recently.

Back: Dejan Kulusevski

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“That was one of the hardest days in my life, I think,” he said.

“It was so beautiful to see all the people happy, but it was very difficult for me, going there with crutches, can’t walk. I couldn’t even take my medal because it was too slippery to go on that thing [the podium].

“Things like this was not nice but I accepted it and I came back to Barcelona and I had to stay there because I couldn’t travel with the flight back so seeing the team celebrating on the bus, that was probably the most difficult part of all this journey, because you feel so alone in this time.”

Kulusevski made a late substitute cameo in the 2-0 win at Chelsea last weekend, and he will be looking to break into Roberto De Zerbi’s starting XI before too long, with Spurs seeking to climb the Premier League table.