Tottenham midfielder Dejan Kulusevski returned to action after 17 months on the sidelines due to knee pain. He feared his career was over following surgery in May 2025. After treatment in Sweden, he said, "I don't have pain, like this hurt yesterday. Why is this not hurting today?" He recovered.
Tottenham midfielder Dejan Kulusevski revealed how treatment in Sweden helped him overcome persistent knee pain and return to action after 17 months on the sidelines, during which he feared his career could be over.
Tottenham's Dejan Kulusevski has explained how a "change to my nervous system" allowed him to play again after a 17-month injury absence that left him worried his career might be over.
The Swedish midfielder came on to a rapturous reception in the 87th minute of Spurs 3-1 home win over Coventry last week. He then made another substitute appearance in Saturday's victory at Chelsea, as the club kept improving after a poor start to the Premier League campaign.
Kulusevski suffered several setbacks following knee surgery in May 2025, but a second operation in March finally put him on the path to recovery.
Speaking to SpursPlay ahead of Saturday's game against Crystal Palace, the 26-year-old said: "It had been like one year and a couple of months, and I still can't walk on the stairs. I can't walk on the stairs like a normal guy. I have to play football, so in my head I'm not going to give up, but I have to think that if this doesn't work out, what do I do?
"I went to a physio in Sweden. He was able to change my nervous system and then it felt different. When I did the exercises, I said, 'I don't have pain, like this hurt yesterday. Why is this not hurting today?'
"Then I did the next exercise and said, 'this is not hurting,' and I went into the room to my wife. And I told her, 'it's over, we're going to do this'. From the minute I went into the room, it was better."
He added: "There was still pain but it was different. Now I had control of my leg and then that is when the grind started that summer. I started to play football and it got better every day. I was limping and everything, but it was different now.
"I got much stronger in a short time and I went from 'this guy will not play football any more' to playing really good football in just a couple of weeks."
The former Juventus winger also praised Spurs manager Roberto De Zerbi, saying: "I knew from before that he is a very special manager, so when he came here, it felt like it was special."