Tottenham boss Roberto De Zerbi has given an upbeat assessment of Dejan Kulusevski’s recovery as the international break approaches.
Injuries have plagued Spurs all season, with the unavailable list constantly shifting. The club had got it down to only three players, but that rose to six after last weekend’s games, when Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie and Sandro Tonali were all hurt. De Zerbi has since confirmed that all three are fit and available for this weekend’s match.
There is good news on Kulusevski too. Spurs Web reported earlier today that the Sweden international is back in full training with his teammates, a big milestone after an absence of nearly two years. He first resumed training in August, but a series of setbacks held him back.
De Zerbi stressed that the club needs to handle the midfielder’s return with care, calling it a great development because Kulusevski is both a quality player and a good person. He said the player deserves to play again, and that the break will be valuable for him. Once he is fully fit and past the injury, De Zerbi said, he will feel like a fresh signing.
Spurs are expected to be cautious, with avoiding another setback the top priority. The plan is to rebuild his fitness, sharpness and match conditioning gradually before he goes near competitive first-team football. No return date has been set, though he could play in behind-closed-doors games first. Talk of him joining up with Sweden during the break looks very unlikely given his condition, as the club wants him to recover fully and return only when he is ready.
