Tottenham star Dejan Kulusevski, 26, considered retirement and told his mother he might never play football again after a knee injury kept him sidelined for 17 months and left him unable to walk up stairs normally after 14 months.
The complicated injury happened during a Premier League match against Crystal Palace in May 2025 following a challenge with Marc Guehi. Kulusevski explained, "I broke my cartilage, and the cartilage flew out and went to another part of the knee, and they can't fix cartilage."
Surgery followed alongside an intense recovery effort that involved top specialists, including a rehabilitation expert in Serbia recommended by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Despite trying everything, treatments initially failed, causing immense stress.
Kulusevski recalled telling his mother on the couch that he did not think his recovery would work out and that he had to prepare her for the reality that he might not play again. At 26 years old, he felt he needed a backup plan since he still could not use stairs like a normal person after over a year.
He continued his rehabilitation diligently despite missing the World Cup over the summer. A turning point came when he visited a physiotherapist in Sweden who adjusted his nervous system. "When I did the exercises, I said, 'I don't have pain. This hurt yesterday, why is this not hurting today?'" Kulusevski said. He then told his wife that the struggle was turning around.
Following pre-season work at Tottenham where club staff were impressed by his rapid progress, the winger returned to action after 526 days out against Coventry earlier this month. He now hopes to make his third appearance of the season against Crystal Palace, the exact opponent he faced when he originally got hurt. To manage his knee, he currently spends an hour stretching every single night.
