Kulusevski returns after 526 days: "I'm a different man now"

Dejan Kulusevski, who made his first Tottenham appearance in 526 days in Monday's 3-1 win over Coventry City, has revealed he feels like "a different man".

Kulusevski suffered a serious injury to his right kneecap (patella) in a 2-0 Premier League defeat to Crystal Palace in May 2025 and missed Tottenham's entire 2025-26 season.

The Sweden international underwent surgery and suffered a number of setbacks during his rehabilitation. While he was sidelined, the manager's seat at Tottenham changed hands several times.

But when Roberto De Zerbi sent him on in place of Mohammed Kudus in the 87th minute against Coventry, Kulusevski was greeted by a huge ovation from the stands.

In his brief comeback cameo, Kulusevski completed all 4 of his passes, won 2 of his 6 duels and was successful with 1 of his 2 attempted dribbles.

After a long and gruelling road back to the first team, Kulusevski is determined to savour every game he plays in a Spurs shirt.

"I will tell everyone about this journey. Sometimes it was very hard, but it was an incredible journey; the hardships are beautiful in their own way," Kulusevski said, before adding:

"I'm grateful that I had to go through it. Now I'm ready to play football. I see myself differently now. I think I'm a different man now. I'm still the same kid who wants to play football, but a bit smarter, so I'm very happy."

The victory was Tottenham's first three points of the Premier League season at the 7th attempt. Kulusevski, who came on with De Zerbi's side 2-1 up, was fully focused on the task at hand:

"I was completely locked in on the game, ready to play those 10 minutes and make a good impact. It's an incredible feeling. I was much more emotional in the morning. It was a great day and I'm very happy that we won."

Elsewhere, James Maddison, back from an ACL tear, made his first Premier League start since April 2025 and opened the scoring with a superb strike from outside the box.