Tottenham have to be more worried than they thought about Dejan Kulusevski

Tottenham Hotspur right winger Dejan Kulusevski now has a few games under his belt for his club after returning from a devastating knee injury, one so severe that the Swedish international recently revealed that a knee replacement was on the table for him after he lost his cartilage.

Kulu has looked decent in his return, but it is a bit telling that he peaked on his first game back against Coventry with a lively run up the pitch. In a more important moment off the bench against Leeds United in an eventual 1-0 loss, Kulusevski looked far more ordinary for the Lilywhites, and fans were concerned that Kulu just won't be able to make an impact for this team even when he is fully healthy. Many recall that Kulusevski was being whispered in transfer rumors during the 2024/25 season after seemingly taking a step back and reaching a ceiling below that of a top Premier League forward.

In the more immediate term, Tottenham have to be worried about Kulusevski not making it to the end of the season at all. Because based on what he told Swedish reporters ahead of this November international break, via independent reporter Gary Ward, Kulusevski could be headed for more minutes than what he is getting at Spurs right now.

Dejan Kulusevski said, "I can play 90 in both games. I get to play part of both games, around 30 minutes is what has been said. That's better than zero, now it's up to me to come on and do what I can."

90? A full 90 in both games for Sweden after barely getting a cup of coffee in a few games after coming back from 18 months out with one of the most severe knee injuries in elite European football over the past five years? There's simply no way that's the case, and Kulu even mentioning that is concerning.

The disaster scenario sees Graham Potter and Sweden bucking the great work themselves and Tottenham Hotspur have done in easing Kulu back from an injury most people thought he would never recover from, then watching Kulusevski go down with another terrible injury. Tottenham have learned to take nothing for granted when it comes to the health of their players, and Kulu pushing even to 30 minutes in both games, as he says has been agreed, is an issue, too. He should not even be playing for Sweden yet with how little he is doing for Spurs so far, and Tottenham have to be worried.